I Hesitate But I Have Hope: Critical Civic Empathy in Troubled Times
On October 19th, join the Long Island Writing Project for our first workshop in the 2019-2020 Saturday Series!
In today’s polarized political climate, our students come to class trying to figure out who they are and what they stand for in the face of deepening social divisions and stark racial inequities. We educators have a responsibility to orient our teaching toward the ultimate goal of preparing young people to face the challenges of the 21st century with consciousness, compassion, and commitment to equity and justice. In this workshop, Nicole Mirra shares literacy practices that teachers can integrate into their classrooms to foster a new kind of empathy – one that goes beyond simply being nice to each other and instead fosters a shared sense of democratic community. She will show how textual analysis, classroom discussion, research, and digital literacy can be the basis for both powerful learning and transformative civic engagement. This workshop will help us think beyond traditional models of social emotional learning and achieve a critical perspective that we can integrate into our practice.
The LIWP is thrilled to have Nicole Mirra kick-off our Saturday Series for the 2019-2020 school year. Nicole is the recipient of the 2019 NCTE David H. Russell Award for for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English. Nicole is an assistant professor of urban teacher education in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. She previously taught high school English and debate in New York City and Los Angeles public schools. Her research explores the intersections of critical literacy and civic engagement with youth and teachers across classroom, community, and digital learning environments. Central to her research and teaching agenda is a commitment to honoring and amplifying the literacy practices and linguistic resources that students from minoritized communities bring to civic life. She is the author of Educating for Empathy: Literacy Learning and Civic Engagement (Teachers College Press, 2018) and a co-author of Doing Youth Participatory Action Research: Transforming Inquiry with Researchers, Educators, and Students (Routledge, 2015). Nicole earned her B.A. in English from New York University, her M.Ed. in Education Policy from Harvard University, and her Ph.D. in Urban Schooling from the University of California, Los Angeles.
We hope you can join us for this important conversation. Please RSVP here or to Darshna Katwala (Darshna.Katwala@ncc.edu) by October 17th.
Long Island Writing Project
The LIWP comprises teachers from kindergarten through university. Our seminar leaders are outstanding educators from different grade levels and disciplines in local schools, and we have a strong, ongoing partnership with Hofstra University's Department of Literacy Studies. LIWP teacher-consultants keep up with research and changes in education and their work is grounded in practical classroom approaches. Through our model of teachers teaching teachers, participants in the LIWP strengthen the classroom strategies they already find effective in teaching writing and develop new ones.
One of the most important foundational beliefs of our Project is that teachers improve their knowledge of teaching writing by writing themselves. Another is that the best way to improve our own teaching is through sharing what works with other effective teachers. We welcome your inquiries, and look forward to writing, learning and teaching with you.
The Long Island Writing Project at SUNY Nassau Community College is an approved Sponsor of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) pursuant to Section 80-6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, New York State Education Department (NYSED).
