Chapter 5: Teaching for Social Justice and Standards: Lessons in Secondary English Language Arts

During my first years as a secondary English Language Arts teacher in a low income, urban high school in Central Massachusetts, I spent a lot of time in the principal’s office. I was called in to defend my request for justice-oriented curricular materials, to explain the need for yet another guest speaker, and to address a student’s discomfort talking about race in English class. After the first few visits, I learned to articulate the relationship between my pedagogy and state standards, to cite my students’ increasing test scores, and to bring copies of student work. Though these experiences predated the widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards, they taught me the importance of having an “administrator-proof” rationale, especially when using controversial curriculum or pedagogy.