Luisa Bravo

Dr. Orellana

September 9th, 2016

Language is our cultural tool - we use it to share experience and so to collectively,

jointly, make sense of it...Language is therefore not just a means b which individuals
can formulate ideas and communicate them, it is also a means for people to think
and learn together.
- Neil Mercer, The Guided Construction of Knowledge

Language Manifesto

As I transform into a social justice educator, I am becoming more aware of the

importance of language throughout this journey. Language comes through many
methodologies, including but not limited to body language, drawings, gestures, and
writing. Therefore, it is essential for me as an educator to provide my students with
outlets that embody a multitude of various language archetypes. By doing so, I aim
to interrupt the systematic cycle of oppression and provide equitable access to
education. I hope to be conscious of the way language is used in my classroom by
first getting to know my students, their cultures, and their needs. Through
day-to-day conversation, I hope to gain understanding of the role language plays in
their lives so I can then reflect on my teaching methods and our the classroom
culture I will aim to provide.
 MY PROMISE TO YOU

I promise to challenge you and support you so I can

create a safe and learning environment to enrich your
learning
a high challenge, high
I will provide support environment (Gibbons 2015, p. 17) in the
classroom by holding high standards. I believe you are capable of higher-order
thinking, and understanding and completing high-challenging tasks. Simultaneously,
I will scaffold you to provide the individual support you need, such as explaining
directions and concepts in different ways, breaking down the question with you,
providing you with a source to develop your English vocabulary (EL), and anything
else you may need. Although sometimes it will be challenging, I hope to provide you
with the support you will need to succeed.

I promise to listen to you and encourage you to learn

how to listen to each other
I know we all have a lot to say. When you ask for my attention, I will give it--when
appropriate. Facing you and looking at you are some of the ways that I will show you
Im listening. In return, I hope you can show me your ways of listening when we speak
to each other. We will practice listening activities to learn how to really listen. Such
activities will include dyads--two way listening, which well do during instruction.
(Gibbons 2005, p.189).

I promise to validate the language and actions that

reflects your culture
Our cultures
reflect different languages, mannerism, beliefs, and more. I promise to
get to know you through your culture. I will try my best to incorporate your culture in
the classroom through academic lessons, presentations, activities, classroom behavior.
Some examples to cultural behavior includes, but is not limited to, shout outs, looking
at me in the eye when speaking, working with precise and relative time, and more. For
students who are learning English as a second language, I will try to use your mother
 tongue (definitely in Spanish, and will try my best when its another language) to
introduce concepts in a way that you can understand better. There will be time when I
will allow you to use your home and native language to present your work.

I promise to engage in dialogue and give you the

opportunity and time to think critically
As I teach, I will aim to engage in dialogue by asking open-ended questions, encourage
higher-order thinking, and encourage dialogue between all the students in order for
you to share your thoughts, ideas, and learn from each other. You will be asked to
think by yourself, with a partner, or a group, reflect on your ideas, and share them.
Unless absolutely needed, I will refrain from practicing Question and Answer, which
fails to provide an opportunity for you to produce comprehensible output (IRE).
(Gibbons 2005, pg. 31).

I promise to provide you with different outlets that will

encourage you to explore various forms of language
We all express ourselves in many different ways. We can communicate through oral
language, sign language, body language, writing, body movements (such as dancing),
drawing, tone, pitch, and more. You will be in a classroom where we express
ourselves. Some projects will have some sort of rubric, but will be up to you to decide
the method of presentation: you can write a report, use drawings, acting, singing,
spoken word, dancing, and any form you can suggest.

I promise to provide you with different sources of

learning
We all learn differently and I want to make sure I provide you with different ways of
learning. This includes using visuals, videos, writing, audios, songs, engaging
activities, independent work, group work, etc. It is important for you to have access to
these tools to ensure you learn what is being taught.
I promise to take the time to get to know you
There is one of me, and many of you. Although it may take some time, I will take the
time to get to know you individually. Greet each of you in the morning, use work time
to walk around to check on you and have small conversation. Ask you about your day.
Using tribal circles will also be used for you to share about our lives and use that for
me to follow up when needed.

I promise to treat you as an individual and see you for

who you are
This will not be a classroom where you all try to out-do each other. We are a
community where each one of you has something unique to bring to the table. You are
not the same person as the student next to you. There is not space for comparisons,
unless they will be used as encouragement. If someone else is doing better or worse
than you, I will make sure you understand that each of you are on different paths and
on a different pace. I will try to have one-on-ones throughout the semesters to meet
with you and go over your progress, talk about your strengths and your needs, so YOU
can succeed at your own pace.

I promise to believe in you

You are capable. You are smart. You are gifted. You will be your biggest critique and I
will be there every step to make sure you know how special you are. Learning might be
difficult, behavior may or may not be an issue. Regardless, you have the ability to
succeed in this classroom.

Students, I take the oath to be accountable for these promises in

order to . Although I am not perfect, self-reflection will be essential
for me to remind myself of the promises I have made to you, as you
are the priority in this classroom.

Love,
Ms. Bravo