Asao B. Inoue's Infrequent Words

Entry 25 Now, some may still be resistant to the idea that language can be racial. Some may still find it hard to believe that today the dominant ways with words and standards for communication in our classrooms and the broader society come from, favor, and afford privileges to White people more than anyone else. They may say that because those privileges are not doled out equally to all White people that there are no privileges being doled out. They may also try to point to a few BIPOC who take on habits of White language and are rewarded for it.  Some may also argue that what we teach in the literacy classroom is just apolitical English, just language, just clear and effective communication for everyone. And in fact, they will say language has no race. Clear communication does not depend on one’s racial designation. So how can we have White language supremacy? Everyone has equal ability to learn any version of English. Good grammar or clear communication is not racial in nature and s

This is a series of blogposts  meant for students  who are in courses using grading contracts of some kind to determine their final course grades, or those who just want to understand better what grades are, what they do in classrooms, and how they effect learning. This is the  fourth  post in a series of five blogposts  meant to address questions about grading and grading contracts. If you're a teacher (or an inquisitive student), you might look at my  Labor-Based Grading Contracts Resources  page.  This series is a collaboration with the really awesome podcast,  Pedagogue   ( @_Pedagogue_ ) with Shane Wood. You can listen to  me reading this blogpost at Pedagogue , or use the widget below. But maybe you just want to read it on your own below, or follow along.  Pedagogue · Pedagogue & Infrequent Words: What is a Labor-Based Grading System? *** Q4. What is a labor-based grading system and how will it produce a final course grade in a writing course?   To counter the proble

Statement Toward First-Year Composition Goals https://tinyurl.com/IRRL-FYCGoals   11 June 2021 As the newly formed Institute of Race, Rhetoric, and Literacy (previously known as the CWPA Outcomes Statement Revision Task Force), we offer this explanation and statement toward the goals for First-Year Composition (FYC) courses and programs.  Originally, we were tasked to revise the CWPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition in order for that document to be more explicitly antiracist. Our discussion with the CWPA Executive Board of our revisions to the outcomes statement resulted in our parting ways with the CWPA and taking our statement with us (see Asao’s blog, www.asaobinoue.com ). While the full goals statement is still in development, we present this initial statement directly to our colleagues and the public as a way to offer a good faith status report on this ongoing work. In order to serve our communities best, we advance this summary of our forthcoming FYC goals stateme

Entry 24 As items 3 and 4 in my list of habits that make antiracist orientations of teachers suggest (from post 22 ), I find it important to form agreements with students about what it means to be compassionate and brave in classrooms. Bravery in literacy and language classrooms is necessary if we want to fully and compassionately address White language supremacy. As I’ve suggested up to this point, you cannot do antiracist work without talking about, dealing carefully and continuously with, race, racism, and White supremacy in our languaging, judging, and literatures. Without being brave in a particular way, it is almost impossible to do any of this work.  And bravery is not safety in the conventional sense if safety means we don't risk changing.  When I say “brave,” I’m drawing on Brian Arao and Kristi Clemens’ chapter, “ From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces: A New Way to Frame Dialogue Around Diversity and Social Justice ” ( note 138 ). In their chapter, they discuss ways to have br

This is a series of blogposts  meant for students  who are in courses using grading contracts of some kind to determine their final course grades, or those who just want to understand better what grades are, what they do in classrooms, and how they effect learning. This is the  third  post in a series of five blogposts  meant to address questions about grading and grading contracts. If you're a teacher (or an inquisitive student), you might look at my  Labor-Based Grading Contracts Resources  page.  This series is a collaboration with the really awesome podcast,  Pedagogue   ( @_Pedagogue_ ) with Shane Wood. You can listen to  me reading this blogpost at Pedagogue , or use the widget below. But maybe you just want to read it on your own below, or follow along.  Pedagogue · Pedagogue & Infrequent Words: Do Grades Help Students Learn in Classrooms? *** Q3. Do grades help students learn in classrooms?  Over many years, lots of studies of grades’ effects on students and their l