Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 2d

I am having so so so much trouble focusing on my dissertation. Working forty hours a week and still being present to everyone in my life is tough right now.

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

I think that will be so powerful! In Georgia, we have all new ELA standards, so I'm really moving just a week at a time! But I'm trying to think about how we can keep up our momentum we've had going for the past eight weeks in my classroom. Maybe Animal Farm is our answer too! #literacies

3

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

Can't wait for this! What a privilege to have Drs. Smith and Pendergrass join us. #literacies See you all then!

AERA Writing & Literacies SIG @writinglit.bsky.social · 13d

You will not want to be miss the October chat, where we will be celebrating HOMECOMING with #literacies chat founders Dr. Anna Smith (@anna-phd.bsky.social) and Dr. Emily Pendergrass (@esp-phd.bsky.social)

1 6

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

Thank you for joining!! I'm a public ed teacher too. It's funny that I stand by the things I write here, but I'm always aware that I need to be careful of what I write. It's a confusing balance.

1 1 3

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

A6: I actually talk to my students a lot about censorship. This current unit, we're reading Fahrenheit 451, and we're talking all about restrictions to literacy historically and currently. #literacies I also have written specifically about book bans: ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy | ILA Journal | Wiley Online Library

This article examines the recent increase of book bannings and challenged books and their possible effects on marginalized youth, including students who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, and/or...

ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

1 1 4

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

We have to do this -- May not be the same as what Dr. David means, but we have to have a spreadsheet that lists all of the book per grade level that we have (pre-approved). Now that I'm thinking of it, we have a whole app now of approved movies, too...

2 2

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

A5: A few of us previously mentioned this in the chat, but teachers are self-censoring themselves for fear of losing their jobs (which for teachers isn’t necessarily just a check: It’s community, it’s stability, it’s your career!) #literacies

2 2

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

Same here! The only reactions I've experienced/heard are anger and fear. #literacies

1 2

Reposted by Caroline B. Rabalais

Sean P. Connors @profconnors.bsky.social · 13d

Reading this question, I couldn’t help but think of the the emphasis political operatives and think tanks place on “parental rights” and “parental choice.” This ideology is evident in arguments for school vouchers as well as efforts to remove books from libraries and classrooms.

2 2

Reposted by Caroline B. Rabalais

AERA Writing & Literacies SIG @writinglit.bsky.social · 13d

Scholars and teachers, join us to talk about #censorship and #literacies 🤩📚

DrAnnD @drannd.bsky.social · 13d

Hey #literacies folks and @writinglit.bsky.social! We're trending!

Trending - World @trendingworld.bsky.social · 13d

Tags from the last 30 minutes 🧭:

1. #bb27
2. #art
3. #bluejays
4. #WeeknightWriters
5. #oc
6. #watchROH
7. #literacies
8. #ICE
9. #ROH
10. #jeopardy

Ad: @terraprotege.bsky.social.

1 1

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

A4: The ones at the helm of censorship efforts aren’t usually teachers. Having such a large, in-your-face project/policy related to education yet having no teachers involved is totally meant to delegitimize the profession. #literacies

1 1 4

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

A3: A3: The American Library Association (www.ala.org) and Unite Against Book Bans (uniteagainstbookbans.org) do amazing work informing their readers/subscribers about censorship! Also, the participants in my diss (all ELA teachers) have helped shap my understanding in our current climate.

American Library Association

Awards, publishing, and conferences: ALA membership advocates to ensure access to information for all

www.ala.org

2 5

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

In Georgia we're seeing this a lot, too. We've got just a few instances of teachers facing consequences (one major instance here: (www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...), and now teachers are being extra careful. #literacies

Opinion | I was the first casualty of Georgia's school book ban

Censorship not only threatens our students and teachers, but democracy at its core.

www.msnbc.com

1 4

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

I love that and wish that was the normal practice everywhere! #literacies

1 1 1

Reposted by Caroline B. Rabalais

DrAnnD @drannd.bsky.social · 13d

Self-censorship is such a challenging reality for K-12 teachers in this moment. Ginsberg & Chae have a great piece on it in Vol 1 of Impacts of Censorship #literacies

1 3 5

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

Exactly. Thankfully I already had backup from my admin, which made me more confident in the conversation! But you're right that just actually talking to someone does so much to humanize them, like I was just a person trying to teach their kid. I'm not evil! Haha

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

Yes! Something funny is that I feel like I reached that with my White students. Specifically, I taught a kid that year whom I'd taught four years prior in my student teaching (so 2016, dif district, he was happy about the election, you get it). He changed so much from just this book. It was amazing!

2 2

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

It's really wild how some can be so upset over email, but then once you hear their voice it is completely different! What was also interesting is that I sent out a parent emailing to create a line of communication if anyone had concerns about the book...and the parent went to the BOE instead. Lol!

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

Yes totally! Before our conversation I tried putting myself in the dad's shoes, so that helped me to approach the conversation better just seeing him as someone who was advocating for his child. And thankfully, he heard what I was saying and wasn't just there to argue! #literacies

3

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

I've seen so much self-censorship come up in my dissertation. I'm specifically searching for where surveillance happens when teachers teach with critical literacy, and self censorship is happening almost as often as top-down (administrative, district) censorship. #literacies

1 1 3

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

I wrote about this experience and specifically antiracist literature instruction here: drive.google.com/file/d/1tE7g...
And to be clear, after the parent backed off, the whole unit was a really amazing experience. It's why we need these books that help inspire tough conversations. #literacies

FINALRabalaisBooksAsResistance.pdf

drive.google.com

1 5

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

A2: I read the book All American Boys with a class of tenth graders in 2020. I had a parent who was adamant that the book would make his son feel bad about being White. It was a whole thing before ever reaching me. Interestingly, he backed off after an eventual phone call with me! #literacies

AERA Writing & Literacies SIG @writinglit.bsky.social · 13d

Q2: What experiences have you had with censorship in schools, or have teachers in
your life shared? #literacies

5 1 4

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

Completely! Like, my school has a totally different population (class, race, language majority) than the school at the north side of my district. Not to mention differences from classroom to classroom...We're failing someone if we try to make curriculum one size fits all.

1 2

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

Yes! Thank you for highlighting that difference.

Caroline B. Rabalais @carolinebr.bsky.social · 13d

Sounds so familiar, but I'm struggling to remember if I've read this before! Adding it to my reading list.

2