Learning by Observing and Pitching In: An Antiracist Pedagogy for Minoritized Urban and Suburban Children

• In Event: Critical, Culturally Sustaining, and Antiracist Approaches to Language and Literacy Pedagogy

Abstract

This study applies a Learning by Observing and Pitching In (LOPI) lens (Rogoff, 2014) to examine how minoritized urban/suburban families who “unschool” their children, creating learning environments similar to those of many Indigenous-heritage communities. The eight families speak a stigmatized language variety, yet they express pride in their family’s linguistic differences, and employ unschooling as an anti-racist pedagogy. These families argue that the best way for children to become successful, self-directed, collaborative adults is for them to participate in self-directed, collaborative learning from earliest childhood, shielded as much as possible from the effects of systemic racism. Contemporary education policy has much to learn from Indigenous communities and the potential success of the LOPI approach as illustrated in unschooling families.

Author

• Kellie Rolstad, University of Maryland