Cultivating Dreams: The Moral Work of Teaching Reading Equitably

• In Event: Cultivating Responsive Practices to Foster Equity for All Learners

Abstract

Dr. King said “to secure moral ends [requires] moral means.” Integrating the second author’s narrative portraiture as a young Black girl in the Deep South with philosophy and a synthesis of recent empirical evidence, we identify three ways a moral approach to teaching and teacher learning affords transformative opportunities for every student—e.g., across race, class, and ethnicity—to become a successful reader: (a) by highlighting shared responsibility among stakeholders, (b) by showing significance of teacher dispositional virtues, and (c) by teachers and students accessing inherent rewards of equitable teaching. To examine these points further, we examine a second portraiture of 6th grade teachers working together to enact lessons on reading informational texts. We offer recommendations for educators and policymakers.

Authors

• Bryant Jensen, Brigham Young University
  Presenting Author

• Patricia A. Edwards, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author

• Richard D. Osguthorpe, Brigham Young University
  Presenting Author