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I'd like to take a moment to chat about this line, "...compared with their better-educated peers they will suffer a poverty of language and cultural reference" - MG, WSJ
First, a few questions... who is "they"? Presumably, students educated in classrooms dedicated to #DisruptTexts (?)
This is in comparison to... (?)
This is in comparison to... (?)
In what was does regularly accessing "the canon" make a person "better educated?"
Is there concern that without these "cultural references" drilled into a child's head they will be unable to engage in discourse?
Is there concern that without these "cultural references" drilled into a child's head they will be unable to engage in discourse?
Also, THANK YOU for acknowledging that the canon is a "cultural reference" now, I'd like to take that a bit further... whose "cultural reference" is it exactly?
Are we (educators) to assume that the Western/white-constructed canon is THE reference for education in the US?
Are we (educators) to assume that the Western/white-constructed canon is THE reference for education in the US?
I'd also love to chat "poverty of language" - who exactly is devoid of language? 
Certainly not my emerging multi-lingual learners for whom the Western/white-constructed canon holds few (if any) mirrors (Dr. Bishop).
Certainly not my emerging multi-lingual learners for whom the Western/white-constructed canon holds few (if any) mirrors (Dr. Bishop).
... and she couldn't possibly have been speaking of students who seamlessly move between dialects: https://www.ted.com/talks/jamila_lyiscott_3_ways_to_speak_english/up-next?language=en
One of the cringiest moments in Nice White Parents (I think) came when a prospective donor reveled about the benefits of students learning another language to a multi-lingual parent/committee member:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/podcasts/nice-white-parents-serial.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/podcasts/nice-white-parents-serial.html
Clint Smith explains this idea brilliantly when talking about schools choosing money over student dignity:
When (mostly) white folx assume there is one "high culture" THEY remove potential for learning from the young people in our care & erase the funds of knowledge (Yasso) from our students and families.
NOT ONLY is there great value in bringing beautiful contemporary texts to our students BUT ALSO to assume #DisruptTexts is about "banning books" is a grotesque misreading of the movement started by four brilliant WOC.
Why wouldn't we (everybody?) aim for an expansive view of lit
Why wouldn't we (everybody?) aim for an expansive view of lit
... except to double-down on protection of "the canon" (a thing that needs no protecting) and ensure white-centered curriculum.
Finally-ish (maybe?) the white author referenced in this opinion piece took direct aim at one of the #DisruptTexts founders, therefore making personal her misguided critique of a movement she acknowledged misunderstanding.
When I get into a defensive stance, my incredible friend & mentor Shadiin Garcia often asks, "what are you protecting?"
In this case, I might ask whether it's worth protecting "the canon" over the reading lives & humanity of our young people.
In this case, I might ask whether it's worth protecting "the canon" over the reading lives & humanity of our young people.
