Examining Teaching and Learning with Language and Culture Lenses

Are you confused about messaging from articles, blogs, and posts on social media about the best ways to teach? Are you trying to sort through all of the voices and really get to the heart of what’s best for multilingual students? Just as we encourage our students to be critical thinkers and consider multiple perspectives, we as educators must do the same by being mindful of who is sharing messages and why. What agendas are being pushed? By whom? For whom? Are there underlying assumptions that neglect or negate the diversity among our students? Is a monolingual/monocultural perspective being prioritized? Are best practices for multilingual learners taking a backseat to priorities for dominant student groups?

The Illinois Resource Center exists to guide and support educators who serve our linguistically and culturally diverse communities. While our work is often centered on students who have been classified as English learners and other bi/multilingual learners, we recognize that these students do not learn in a vacuum and that to serve them and everyone well, we must consider the larger context and ecology for learning. We also recognize the tremendous variety of languages, cultures, stages of language learning, lived experiences, abilities, interests, facets of identity and intersectionalities present in every classroom.

We envision a world in which every child’s languages and cultures are affirmed, every teacher’s practice is reflective and responsive, and every school’s systems and policies are inclusive and equitable. Toward that vision, we always urge educators and leaders to vigilantly employ “language and culture lenses” when examining pedagogy and to keep a critical eye on trends in teaching and learning.

We want you to know that here at the IRC, we encourage educators and leaders to have open and honest discussions to address these questions. If you are ever in need of a thought partner, either on your own or with your team, we are here for you and are happy to support you in navigating brave conversations. On this page, you will find the IRC’s position on a variety of education issues impacting our communities, along with readings & resources to support your learning journeys and conversations around these issues. 

Keeping a Critical Eye On... the Science of Reading

Currently, there is a lot of information out there about what is known as the Science of Reading and we encourage you to consider and question how this may or may not serve the students and communities in your care.

At the IRC, we uphold perspectives that value and affirm all learners in our culturally and linguistically diverse community. We champion systems, structures, and polices that holistically honor the language identities and literacy identities of all students we serve, and recognize that though students may carry the same label, each is an individual and there is rich diversity across the group. We favor perspectives that do not position any students as less-than or in need of fixing but rather, recognize and build on every student’s strengths to guide and shape their unique literacy journeys.

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Reading is Fundamental! Exploring the Joy of Literacy Through Drag Story Hours

We encourage you to keep a critical eye on the hostility directed at Drag Story Hour and other family-friendly drag performances and consider how this opposition to drag is interrelated to other forms of intolerance and violence. We hope you will also consider how practices like Drag Story Hour, when viewed through a language and culture lens, align with a vision for powerful and joyful literacy and learning in culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

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Affirming the Freedom to Read in Illinois & Beyond

At the IRC, we believe in strong literacy practices that allow all students, and specifically multilingual students, to not only exist but thrive in literacy, and access to diverse books that reflect our students’ and educators’ rich and multifaceted histories, cultures and lived experiences is a cornerstone of that. Diverse books provide what Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop refers to as “windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors” –  works that authentically promote understanding of one’s own experience and perspective as well as those of others. Safeguarding the freedom to read empowers students with skills to make meaning of their own lives in the world and cultivates individual and collective agency toward continued growth and learning. Furthermore, access to diverse books that multilingual students can connect with will only serve to foster and grow their love of reading and improve their literacy skills over time. 

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