"Learn From Each Other, Not of Each Other": Counterstories in Pedagogy

• In Event: 21.037 - Centering Community Knowledge and Counterstories Across Community and School Spaces

Abstract

Often, K-12 schools and classrooms participate in the marginalization and dehumanization of students of color and contribute to systems of oppression (e.g. Ferguson, 2000; Lee, 2005; Valenzuela, 1999). However, some educators challenge and work against these persistent patterns. In a time when the voices, experiences, and needs of communities of color are constantly delegitimized, it is especially important to pay attention to educational spaces where such narratives are not only heard, but seen as critically important. To that end, this paper explores how some educators at a diverse public high school powerfully centered the counterstories of their students of color in their pedagogy, which supported students in critiquing and challenging systems of power. Such work allowed for a reframing of dominant narratives about injustice, and instead positioned those most affected by oppression as having the most expertise in making sense of it.

This paper draws on critical race theory (CRT), especially its concept of counterstories. CRT emphasizes that analyses of inequity in U.S. society often fail to fully consider the role of race and racism, and highlights the value of experiential knowledge and counternarratives, particularly those of people of color (Bell, 1992; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). This approach gives voice to stories that have historically been ignored or silenced, values their experiences and knowledges, and thus challenges dominant ways of thinking (Delgado, 2000; Dixson & Rousseau, 2005). To explore how counterstories were infused into pedagogy and curriculum, this paper draws on data collected as part of a critical school ethnography. Data collection occurred from August 2015 to December 2016 and included over 1,000 hours of participant observation, interviews with about 40 students and 25 educators, and analysis of school, district, and state documents.

I argue that by centering the counterstories of students of color in their pedagogy, educators were able to more deeply engage students in social critique and the ongoing work of fighting injustice. By valuing, welcoming, and eliciting counterstories, educators facilitated a shift in the way that issues of inequity could and should be discussed. Voices that are often silenced in schools were brought to the forefront and used to shape conversations. Importantly, these educators understood that they themselves, as well as other students, could learn from these counternarratives. Students of color were positioned as holders of knowledge, and they developed more authentic understandings of inequities.

In a “post-truth” era, when the rights and humanity of marginalized communities continue to come under attack, listening to the voices of communities of color is essential. This paper contributes to conversations about how education can play a role in challenging harmful paradigms and policies. Centering counterstories in pedagogy pushes us to consider not only how students of color are creators of knowledge, but also how they could and should be creators of pedagogy. Overall, this paper highlights how the voices and experiences of students of color and other marginalized youth should be used to inform pedagogy and curriculum in order to confront damaging “post-truth” narratives and systems.

Author

• Jia-Hui Stefanie Wong, Trinity College