In light of the recent #WLBookAudit threads, and yet ANOTHER conversation last night in which I pushed back against the misleading assumption that “CI is inherently more equitable,” I’d like to reiterate that WE. HAVE. WORK. TO. DO. #langchat 1/

I’d like to credit @doriecp in helping me see this in my own practice. When I say it’s a dangerous assumption that “CI is more equitable,” I say that bc it happened to me. Sure, we are using more equitable practices that allow us to be responsive to sts & do less gatekeeping. 2/

But we have to be mindful of the messages we are sending it perpetuating using that CI in our own classrooms. For me, a big area of this has been the issue of readers and novels, both what I am teaching and what in my classroom library. 3/

I want to remind us of this thread that Dorie shared months ago. The “poor but happy” trope of a community of color was alive and well. The defense was, “that book is 30 years old. We have better ones now.” 4/ https://twitter.com/doriecp/status/1204177192097333248?s=20

But: that book is still for sale, and there are still copies in classrooms. I found 2 on my own shelves. This is an area of reflection for us, no doubt. We are responsible for what’s on our shelves. Sts consume those messages and images, even subconsciously. 5/

I’d like to point out this very recent example from @MsAbeja about another book that was reprinted as recently as 2016. Do you see the same “poor but happy” trope? Do you see the danger in the white savior storyline? 6/ https://twitter.com/doriecp/status/1204177192097333248?s=20

So no. We have not “outgrown” racism. We have not “overcome” our implicit biases. We prob never will. We have GOT to start paying attn. We can’t keep either choosing to not look, willfully ignoring the info, or prioritizing the comfort of authors bc they are our friends. 7/

We allllll need to get better. For our sts, for our colleagues of color, and for the future. And we can’t get better if we’re not willing to talk abt it & get uncomfortable. Is it worth it to you, friends? Can you see past ur discomfort to the interests of justice & liberation?8/

It doesn’t matter where you start. Not ready to talk about readers? What are you willing to talk about? Where is your entry point? 9/

Ready to think and talk about readers? Ready to start thinking about the novels you teach and reevaluating if they are the best choice? Ready to look at your library? Hope you’re following #WLBookAudit. The conversation is so important. The dialogue matters. 10/

And if you’re ready to start sharing your thoughts in books you thought were problematic, or interested in seeing/hearing what other teachers are starting to see as problematic in their books, check out the survey below by @MsAbeja and the results. 11/

Here is the survey: https://twitter.com/msabeja/status/1275083827740721153?s=21 https://twitter.com/msabeja/status/1275083827740721153

And the link to results: https://twitter.com/msabeja/status/1274804851956801536?s=21 https://twitter.com/msabeja/status/1274804851956801536