How Can Critical Literacy Help Me?

When we think of the word "critical" what first comes to mind?  It could be that someone is critically injured and might die, that a piece of information is critical and therefore very important... It could refer to a lot of things, but let's really think about Critical Literacy and how it can help each of us.


All of the words in the image tell us something about critical literacy.  This is a process that helps us all look closely at something, understand it, and use that understanding to gain meaning and knowledge that will lead to change!

Let's use critical literacy to think about math!  Who is good at math?... Let's see... Einstein... Newton... Leibniz...

So basically a bunch of kinda funny looking dead white guys...

Well, they might be pretty awesome, but I don't think they're the only people that are good at math.  I happen to believe that WOMEN are pretty good at math, too!  And you know what else, it's not just white people who are good at math.

I had a teacher that, even though she was a female math teacher from 1965-1995, believed with all her heart that white boys would succeed more in her 7th grade math class than anyone else!  Let's CRITICALLY look at the area of math to find out what's wrong with this picture.

What is one of the biggest barriers to anyone in education!?  Honestly, it's reading.  If we get down to the basics we will find that if you can't read then it's really hard to learn.  Who tends to struggle the most with reading in our American schools?  I would have to say it's those who grow up in homes where English isn't the primary language that is spoken in the home.  You know what the great thing about math is?  It's a universal language!  As long as we can understand each other and understand the problem that needs to be solved, then we can do the math!!!

I had one of the best students 3 years ago.  I knew he was smart, and he was really good at math.  There was only one problem- he was in 8th grade and read at a 1st grade level.  So guess what, did we work on math to get his math grade up?  Nope- I read him his math problems which he then did perfectly, and we worked on reading!  Turns out that his teachers started figuring out that he's pretty smart.  Is he white?  Nope.  Is English the primary language spoken in his home?  Nope.  Can he find the area of any three dimensional shape?  You bet he can!  But do you know what he likes to do more than that?  Solve problems that deal with money.  And do you know what his non-white, non-english-as-a-first-language-speaking female cousin likes to do with math?  She likes to figure out speed and acceleration.  She loves physics!  Do I want a classroom with all types of students who love all types of math?!  YES!!!!  I really do!!!!

There is a way to change what we believe about math- to challenge what it always has been.  It involves people.  It's about their interests, their abilities, and their individual success.  Math is very rarely the problem- the problem is trying to bring the student to math and not the math to the student.