ABSTRACT
At times during our work together, the students, teachers, or I commented on our work as “life-changing” (Barbara’s words), realizing that a writer has a “brain with words” (Esperanza’s words) or “how to get all my thoughts and writing them” (Juliana). We were translating and transcending the ideological hegemony, but not consistently participating in the political discussions inherent in such wording. We acted more intuitively, most of the time, because, I conjecture, things at the school seem to move so fast. The constant thrusting of curriculum, test preparation, interventions, professional development, alternative programs, and more upon teachers and children left us struggling to focus on and plan the writing work at hand. It wasn’t until the year was over and I had time to analyze the data in greater depth that the political work we’d done-counterportraiture-became clear.
