ABSTRACT
In Kate and Liesl’s chapter (Chapter 12), we heard the voices of new teachers constructing identities as activist educators. Their identities as educators were constructed through the small actions each took, actions that together formed part of a larger process of becoming critical literacy teachers. Many of the actions that these new teachers took included asking questions and making curricular decisions for themselves. Janet’s chapter (Chapter 13) illuminates the social and political nature of action, as she made decisions to pursue homophobia through the newspaper with high schoolers in a conservative political school climate. In Sarah’s account of her work as an adult educator and organizer (Chapter 14), we can see how the work of an educator activist involves moving through many spaces, building relationships that lead to positive social change. Sarah describes the process of changing practices as following the circles-cycles of speaking, questioning, collaborating, and acting-both in concert with other educators and with the lessons of earlier teaching moments. Across all of the chapters we hear echoes of the importance of community.
