ABSTRACT
During a recent discussion about ways to improve adolescent literacy, a school administrator voiced exasperation: “We agree that comprehension strategies are necessary if students are to understand what they read, so why can’t we just mandate everyone teach comprehension strategies and be done with it?” We empathize, but we also know that if we are going to improve student understanding, we are also going to have to improve understanding our students. And a productive place to begin is with identity.
