Becoming political

• In Event: Navigating the Politics of the Science of Reading Mandates: U.S. and Australian Case Studies

Abstract

Becoming Political. In this case study, the presenter will address how educators have contributed to the success of other people’s agendas by failing to take a political role ourselves. The presenter argues that this is fundamentally due to our inability/failure to conceptualize ourselves as having such a role. As a result, educators predominately have written to and for each other. We have not written to those outside our circles. In particular, educators rarely write in order to influence instructional and curricular decisions made outside the classroom. While there have been a few political actions taken by individuals (Mora, J., 2023; Reinking, Smagorinsky, P. & Yaden, D.B, 2023; Suskind, D.C., 2000; Thomas, 2014-2024; Tierney, R. J. & Pearson, P.D. 2023), the number of politically active educators is dismally small. The presenter will then address an opportunity that as a professor there was the affordance to become politically involved in their state and address lessons learned and implications. This will focus upon the presenter’s exchanges with legislators and include reflections on what was and not achieved as well as the lessons learned.

Author

• Diane Stephens, University of South Carolina