Critical teaching in classrooms of healing: Struggles and testimonios

Abstract

Using testimonio methodology, this article describes the testimonio and struggle of two Chicanx activist social studies teachers teaching in a large urban high school serving socio-economically poor Latinx students. Both teach critically working to develop their students’ understanding of how their ethnic and community histories contrast with larger historical narratives. Both teach the racism, misogyny, and homophobia rampant in American history by connecting it to the present. They also engage a culturally sustaining pedagogy to give students strength from their cultural inheritance. Each approached this differently, one developing an ethnic studies course, and the second developing a circulo de hombres, and embedding a youth participation action research. Each teacher tackled critical teaching and healing simultaneously from different perspectives yielding a variety of accompanying struggles.

“My People Wouldn’t Stand For This”: Ethnic Studies as Critical Civic Education

“…The three teachers' testimonios were taken from a longitudinal qualitative study that examined justice teaching in unsupportive school spaces (Gibbs, 2019(Gibbs, , 2020. Rather than analyzing by coding, the stories within the interviews were identified and surfaced and organized into narrative form.…”

“…This article seeks to frame Ethnic Studies as a strong pedagogical and curricular approach to critical civic literacy and as a vital part of the social studies. Long thought of as something separate from, Ethnic Studies offers an example of what social studies education can be, critical, student centered, community connected, culturally sustaining, civically agentic, that develops activist oriented students (Gibbs, 2019(Gibbs, , 2020Gillen, 2015;Martell & Stevens, 2020;Parkhouse, 2017).…”

An Analysis of the Statistical Literacy of Middle School Students in Solving TIMSS Problems

“…Literacy is also stated as the ability of a person in understanding, utilizing, interpreting, and reflecting written text in order to achieve necessary objectives (Bernardo-Hinesley, 2020;Harsiati, 2018;Indah, Mania & Nursalam, 2016;Keefer & Haj-Broussard, 2020). Literacy can be understood as the conscience within a person to think critically and creatively, and is founded by the written tradition (Maryati & Priatna, 2018;Gibbs, 2020). Literacy supports the abilities of a person in utilizing information and developing knowledge intelligently in order to be beneficial for society (Irianto & Febrianti, 2017;Johnson, 2020;Solikhah & Budiharso, 2020b;Timberlake, 2020).…”

Teachers’ personal theories of teaching: managing cultural diversity in mainstream public primary schools in Greece

“…This emphasizes the permanent need for the intercultural educational training of teachers in order for them to be able to effectively respond to the challenges posed by multiculturality. In addition, they will be able to successfully manage the diversity of cultures in their classrooms (Beckett & Kobayashi, 2020;Ciges & Lopez, 1998;Domingo & Guerrero, 2018;Gibbs, 2020;Karanikola, 2015;Kesidou & Papadopoulou, 2008;Magos, 2007;Palaiologou, 2004), notwithstanding the institutionalized efforts that have been made in the last two decades by the state and by European large-scale programs.…”