March 14, 2023 • 34 mins
Dr. Lakeya Afolalu talks to us about freedom, identity as an outcome of language and literacy, and arts as a key to communicating and expression. Dr. Afolalu is known for her work that explores the role of language and literacies in Black African immigrant youth identity constructions and negotiations across school, community, and digital spaces. As an artist and advocate, as well as a former middle school teacher, Lakeya pays particular attention to the intersection of racialization and socialization processes that influence identities. Dr. Afolalu is a Scholars of Color Transitioning into Academic Research Institutions (or STAR) Fellow with the Literacy Research Association and her work won the American Educational Research Association Bilingual Education Research Special Interest Group’s Outstanding Dissertation Award. Dr. Lakeya Afolalu is currently an Assistant Professor of Language, Literacy, and Culture at the University of Washington.
To cite this episode: Persohn, L. (Host). (2023, Mar. 14). A conversation with Lakeya Afolalu. (Season 3, No. 20) [Audio podcast episode]. In Classroom Caffeine Podcast series. https://www.classroomcaffeine.com/guests. DOI: 10.5240/F003-DA43-E669-98CB-E29E-N
Connect with Classroom Caffeine at www.classroomcaffeine.com or on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Education Research has a problem the work of
brilliant education researchersoften doesn't reach the practice
of brilliant teachers.
Classroom Caffeine is here tohelp.
In each episode, I talk with atop education researcher or an
expert educator about what theyhave learned from years of
(00:32):
research and experiences.
In this episode, dr LikiaAfilalu talks to us about
freedom, identity as an outcomeof language and literacy, and
arts as a key to communicatingan expression.
Dr Afilalu is an ethnographicscholar who specializes in the
(00:52):
intersections of language,literacy, race and identity.
Her hybrid identity as aNigerian and African American
influenced her current researchproject, which explores the role
of language and literacies,including digital literacies, in
Black African immigrant youth,identity constructions and
negotiations across schoolcommunity and digital spaces.
(01:13):
Dr Afilalu pays particularattention to the intersection of
racialization and socializationprocesses that influence
identities.
She draws on her livedexperiences, the wisdom of her
former middle school studentsand the arts to inform her
approach to shifting staticideas about identity.
Dr Afilalu is a Scholar ofColor, transitioning into
(01:35):
academic research institutionsor STAR Fellow with the Literacy
Research Association, and herwork won the American
Educational Research AssociationBilingual Education Research
Special Interest Group'sOutstanding Dissertation Award.
Dr Likia Afilalu is currentlyan assistant professor of
Language Literacy and Culture atthe University of Washington.
(01:56):
For more information about ourguest, stay tuned to the end of
this episode.
So pour a cup of your favoritedrink and join me your host
Lindsay Persan for ClassroomCaffeine research to energize
your teaching practice.
Likia, thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Welcome to the show, thank you so much for having me.
It's truly a pleasure.
Seriously, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
So, from your own experiences and education, will
you share with us one or twomoments that inform your
thinking now?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, that's a great question.
I think about one memory thatsticks with me in particular,
and that is so.
I grew up in Detroit, michigan,and my mom and her sister were
very close while we were growingup.
So my mom has three children,my aunt has four children, so on
the weekends what we would dois we would drive from Detroit
with my mom and my sisters andwe would go about a few miles
(02:51):
north to Arbenhills, which is asuburb right outside of Detroit,
and so we would be playing withour cousins and things like
that.
And me I was about seven oreight and I would just never
forget the differences.
Like my cousins would come homewith these chapter books from
school.
They would have the longerversions of the shortened
versions that we had at Detroitpublic schools.
And so that's when I didn't knowwhat it was called back then.
(03:11):
Looking back, I was like, oh,bazel text readers versus access
to the full book, and so wewould spend time going back and
forth in the summer as well asjust throughout the school year,
and I noticed very early howvastly different our educational
experiences were.
And I didn't know what that was.
I didn't know any terms likeequity, access or things like
that back then.
But I realized that, oh wow,where you live, your zip code,
(03:34):
truly does determine the type ofeducation and the quality of
education that you get.
And so I've moved through life,continue to go through
elementary, and then anotherthing that came up was when I
was in middle school and Ididn't even know this was
happening my teachers hadn'tprepared me for it but some guy
who walks into my schoolbuilding and we go into this
room and we have thisconversation and he's
(03:54):
interviewing me, and I find outa few months later that I was
recruited to go to theirboarding school in Wisconsin
based on my state test scores,and I had to make a really
important decision.
I was what?
12, 13 at the time.
So do I go to the high schoolthat I've been wanting to go to
for a while in Detroit, michigan, or do I leave family and
(04:15):
friends and go to a boardingschool in Wisconsin?
And I would never forget lookingat that brochure and everyone
there.
There was not a single facethat looked like mine, like
there were white students, therewere Asian students.
It was clearly an internationalschool and I was like, as much
as I love learning, reading andchallenging myself, this does
not look like the place for me,and so, really thinking about
how that informs my thinking now, I do believe that youth of
(04:38):
color, especially black youth,who live in communities, urban
communities, city communitieslike Detroit, I am really big on
making sure that they don'thave to leave home in order to
get a quality educationalexperience.
And so you know those smallmoments as a child, seven, eight
years old, and then again atmiddle school, these very
defining moments do still stickwith me and they informed the
(04:58):
way that I think about education, down to my teaching, how I
share my research now, this ideathat we have to leave home in
order to get something reallygood around education.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Wow.
First of all, it strikes me askind of an odd opportunity in
this day and age to beinterviewed to go to a boarding
school out of state at that age.
You know, it doesn't seem asthough that's a strong
opportunity for folks now and Ihope that means that it's
because they're getting a goodeducation close to home.
(05:27):
But, my fear is that a lot ofkids still aren't, and you know.
And so the other thing that Iwas really struck by, as you
were sharing those stories withus, laquia, is that, first of
all, yes, zip codes do really,really matter, but you know, the
ways in which our ownexperiences really shape who we
(05:48):
become as adults, and that's onereason I ask that question,
because I feel like it does leadus into the work that folks do
in their adult professionallives, because I think all of
those experiences, our owneducational experiences, they
point us in a particulardirection.
Right, they sort of point ourship one way or another.
Yeah, yeah.
(06:10):
And whether we're trying tocreate new experiences or new
opportunities for others, orsometimes it's just to uncover,
you know, the inequities ineducation.
Absolutely, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Yeah, it set me on a path.
I was like I decided at a veryearly age.
I was like I'm going to becomea teacher, I'm going to become
an educator, I'm going to teachin cities like mine, because I
just felt like every and thiswas me as a child saying every
child deserves a qualityeducation experience.
Granted, I wasn't using, Ididn't use those words, you know
, I and my mom she would talkabout I would play school at
(06:40):
home and, you know, just duringthe summer, I would always ask
her to buy me materials like achalkboard or a whiteboard.
And it did set me on a path,you know, to become an educator.
And when I think about what I'mdoing today, it still goes back
to that same idea.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Yeah, yeah, you're right.
And even even as kids, if wedon't have the language for it,
I think it is sort of thisembodied mindset, right, it is
just sort of part of of who weare.
I think there are so so manyfolks who become teachers who
can reflect on you know, whetherit's lining up stuffed animals
or bossing siblings around youknow, whatever the case may be
right, yes, it's in you.
(07:14):
It's in you from the start.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
It's in you.
My sisters would say we're notyour students, but you know.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
but so true, yes, so, lekea, what do you want
listeners to know about yourwork?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah, well, and you know, and I say whenever I like
think about this word orwhenever I think about this term
, it's a bit of a challenge,attention, if you will, to call
it work, because it's so muchconnected to my life and so much
connected to the lives ofothers.
But just to give an overview ofit, it's my work focuses on
black African immigrant youthand so really asking a few
(07:49):
questions.
So you know, especially in theWestern African region,
particularly Nigeria, and I aska few questions that I ask what
happens to their identity whenthey move to the United States,
and how does language literacy,and especially digital
literacies, play a role in theiridentity processes?
And so I ask those questionsmostly because, unlike a place
(08:10):
like Nigeria or Western Africathat's, it's not designed or
structured by race.
Obviously there's ethnicity,there's language, there's class,
lots of gender things happeningthere as well, but very
different from the United States, where you inherit a racial
identity and a huge part of youknow, showcasing who you are is
choosing a sense of belongingand through your race.
And so that's what my workfocuses on.
(08:32):
And the reason why I do focuson that work is because it's the
story of my life too.
My dad is Nigerian, he migratedto the United States in the
1980s and my mom is AfricanAmerican.
So many times during myschooling experience I thought a
lot about, or certainidentities, or certain cultural
expectations or values wereprojected onto me, as well as
(08:52):
when I was, you know, with myNigerian family, and so I just
always felt like who I was andthe way that I identified was
very much fragmented and a bitconstrained based on these
external identities, and so Ispent my entire life, like you
know, unraveling from them.
And so it really led me to myresearch when I was teaching in
Harlem, new York, seventh gradeclassroom, very diverse students
(09:14):
from all over the world PuertoRico, dominican Republic, west
African country, senegal, gambia, mali, and so New York is such
a diverse place.
But I noticed that my first genand even immigrant students who
had just migrated to the UnitedStates, for the most part, when
they came from, you know, latinAmerican, Central American
countries, they were very proudof their identities in the
(09:37):
classroom, like you know, wavingtheir flags.
But I noticed that I saw partsof myself reflected in my West
African students, where theydidn't necessarily showcase
their identities in theclassroom Now online.
They were very proud, you know,especially during Ramadan, and
you know, dressing up outsideand taking pictures, and I
thought, wow, here I am as anadult, years later, seeing the
same thing.
(09:57):
So it made me think about, well,what is it about school spaces
in particular that influence theway that African, immigrant,
first gen or even, you know,just immigrant youth show up in
the school spaces?
And so that is my work, and Iasked that question because what
I'm really getting to at thecore of my work, is this idea of
freedom, this idea that, youknow, youth get to choose who
(10:19):
they are, how they identify andways that they want to show up
in the world.
And I think that's so importantbecause for youth, you know,
there's this idea that you'reyoung and you should follow
instruction and followdirections, especially when you
add culture to the mix.
It's this idea that we are this, so we do it this way in our
culture, and that can be reallystifling.
And so, yeah, that's anoverview pretty much of like my
work.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
What you're saying, likia.
It just makes me think abouthow many different types of
identities young people arenavigating right and I can I can
feel sort of the weight of thatfragmentation, as you're
talking about that right,because school has a set of
expectations, families have aset of expectations, our own
(11:00):
communities have sets ofexpectations, and so making
sense of that and still feelingwhole and individual, it's such
big work and I don't know if we,if we, always acknowledge that
for young people.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yeah, and I love that you mentioned whole, because
what I noticed and what I withworking with the Nigerian youth
we were in central Texas andwhat I noticed was that, like
their language and literacypractices were less about like
communication, but it was likewhen I speak this way, when I
dress this way, I experience joyor I am happy, I feel connected
(11:36):
to my friends.
So really, that connectionbetween the social, the
emotional and why it's importantto be able to choose how you
show up in the world, and so I'mstarting to think about this a
little bit more now.
But it's really getting down tolike mental and emotional
health.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
I hope you'll say more about that, because this
idea that language and literacyis not really about
communicating right, it's reallyabout identity.
That's such a big idea to wrapour heads around, particularly
when school-based literaciestell us that it is all about
communication.
I'm hoping you'll share alittle bit more with us about
the work you've done and whatyou've learned from that work,
(12:13):
and maybe even how teachers cansupport young people doing this
kind of work, whether they knowthey're doing it or not.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Absolutely yeah.
And so, like I mentioned, Imostly saw it with the girls.
I worked with three girls,amazing Nigerian girls, and
three amazing Nigerian boys.
And so what happened?
Sadly and I just recently wrotea piece about this but this
idea that, like the silence thathappens in schools around their
accents and I put accents inair quotes because, at the end
(12:41):
of the day, we all have accents,right, so this accentent
English and so, because of thatexperience in school, the girls
would spend a lot of time onWhatsApp, on digital platforms,
communicating in ways, whetherthat's through Nigerian pigeon,
through gifts, through memes,through sharing songs, through
music, afro beats, in ways thatfelt authentic and unique to who
(13:04):
they were.
And so our identity, as manyscholars have written about, and
it even shows up in my own workour identity is an outcome of
our language and literacypractices that we use.
So to think that it's justcommunicative or that it's just
objective and just an assignment, that's not true.
And so what I found was thatwhen youth are given the
(13:26):
opportunity, the freedom andespecially given a diverse range
of ways to communicate, it doesimpact the social and emotional
aspects of our identities.
And so, just thinking about oneof the girls that I'm using
this suit and for this interview.
But her name was Sarai, and hermom described her as very
talkative before she came to theUnited States.
But she became really quiet andso she would spend more time
(13:48):
creative writing in class.
So writing was then now amedium through which she could
express herself, but not writingwhat the teacher wanted her to
write about, but topics of herinterest, and so that was one
way where she would just, youknow, express herself, feel a
sense of joy.
Also, the arts.
The arts are so important dance, different extracurricular
activities, music, visual artsand so how.
(14:08):
Those are very much connectedto the human experience and
those are literacies beyondsimply communication, and so I'm
really getting at the root ofcreativity.
I'm really talking aboutexpression and being able to
make those choices for self.
So, for teachers, the questionthat I would ask is how does
your classroom account for andallow diverse ways to
(14:28):
participate?
We live in the US.
Everything is very talk centric.
The main way to identifywhether or not someone is
participating is are you talking?
I didn't hear anything from you, but understanding that there
are multiple ways to participateand there are multiple ways to
express ourselves, and it's notjust through print and it's not
just through speaking.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Oh, that's so important.
You said a couple of thingsthere that I just wanted to kind
of pick back up on.
You talk about identity as anoutcome of language and literacy
, and I think for me that ofcourse, in my world, literacy is
, is so important, right.
Literacies, I should say, areso important, but when we frame
literacies as a part of identity, I think it just elevates it
(15:12):
that much more right?
Because, like you said, we'renot just talking about
communicating, but we're talkingabout how communication and the
ways that we communicate,becomes a part of who we are.
And so I think when in schools,when we limit students to
either, as you said, talking orwritten written word for
communicating, we aren't reallyallowing them to express their
(15:35):
full range of ideas, their fullrange of capabilities, or even
to become fully themselves.
And I think to some ears thatcould sound extreme, but I think
it's so true, right, I mean,what we say and what we write,
what we read, all of thosethings become a part of who we
are.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And I cannot take credit forthe idea that language, the
identity, is an outcome oflanguage and literacy.
I have to give credit to FabianDoucette.
She's a phenomenal scholar atNew York University, at NYU, but
I do want to say that it is,and the question I always like
to ask well, who's who'slistening and who's evaluating
right?
Because I always think about itmay sound extreme, but extreme
(16:14):
to whom when?
Like, is it for people who don'tnecessarily have to change the
way that they engage withliteracy practices across the
day?
Is it for people who don'tnecessarily have to trans
language right and think aboutways that we have to alter
speech or all these differentthings?
And I like to, even in myclasses now, when I'm working
with my students, it's, like youknow who gets to decide, who's
(16:36):
evaluating, who's determiningand making these decisions.
And I think to say, if itsounds extreme, then the
question is are we truly tappinginto and aiming to understand
youth experiences and I say it'snot just students, but youth,
because I like to think aboutthem as, like you know, people
outside of their academicidentities as well, right,
(16:57):
because their school experiencesare so much connected to who
they are outside as well.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Oh, that's so important.
I appreciate you sort ofreframing that idea and
reframing that thinking, becauseit is critical that we think
critically about whose voicematters and who gets to decide,
because I think so often insideof schools, the way things have
always been done, so to speak,right, it's the way things
(17:23):
continue to be done, absolutelyand without calling that into
question, we are sticking with astandard that privileges one
type of idea, one type of people, one type of history.
And if only right, if only wecould move away from some of
those ideas in education, someof those sort of baked in kinds
(17:44):
of challenges with the way thatwe serve kids at school.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Absolutely.
And just also like recalling itwhat it is to that one standard
privileging whiteness.
It truly is whiteness,privileging whiteness in school
spaces.
And that rigidity, thathesitation to change things is
also intentional.
It is by design.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Oh, yes, for sure.
And you know, I wonder if wewere to reach some sort of
critical mass of teachers whowere calling these practices
into question and were sayingwhy is it that we privilege this
one way of thinking or this oneway of communicating?
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Could we really?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
make a difference, Because it does seem as though
it's going to take.
It's going to take individualchange, but it's also going to
take some systemic change toreally give kids space to be who
they are and become who they'rebecoming.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Absolutely.
And so another thing I guessthis is like on the other
extreme, and I again in my ownresearch, my own work, my own
life, and I always challenge mystudents, my pre-service
teachers as well as my graduatestudents, to really think about
do we want to give the mostauthentic parts of ourselves to
academic and educational spacestoo?
(18:52):
Right, so, even allowingstudents to have some choice
around that, the invitationshould be there, and the idea
that there are multiple ways toparticipate should be there.
But it is still the decision ofthe youth, not the educator,
how that participation is goingto be demonstrated, if you will.
And so I think the invitationshould always be there, that
(19:15):
there should always be a diversearray of ways to participate.
But if a student says, I'mactually not comfortable, or
especially around things, withculture, because identity is a
very touchy subject and it's sopersonal, so intimate, so
vulnerable, but alsounderstanding that if a student
does not want to, then that's anoption as well.
(19:35):
That goes back to that freedomand that choice and that
autonomy.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
I think you just blew my mind a little bit and I
certainly appreciate that anytime it happens, Because school
also tells us that we are tolisten and do what we're told
and check off all the boxes andget all the good grades.
But you're absolutely right,Kids should also have the
freedom and the flexibility tosay not me, not, right now, I
(20:03):
can't do this, or I'm not thereyet, or I need time, or I need
to respond differently, or Ineed to refrain from responding.
And so, yeah, I reallyappreciate that reminder and I
mean we are talking about truefreedom here.
We are talking about freedomand autonomy and really having
some control over the way thatour school day or our day in
(20:24):
general plays out, Because Ithink for so many youth, their
time is rather school-centricright, I mean, it's where they
spend most of their waking hours, so that's understandable.
But, yes, having that kind offreedom and flexibility and
control within those seven toeight hours a day or, in some
places, even more that they'respending in schools, that's just
(20:45):
so important.
And you've given me a lot tocontinue thinking about, about
how we make space for youth tobe humans, fully humans.
Yes, that right there.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
So you also mentioned the arts as a key to
communication and expression,and I'm aware that you are a bit
of an artist yourself also, andso I'm hoping that you may
share some whether personal orprofessional insights into how
that might look.
Or, if you know, if I were ateacher listening to this
episode, how could I get startedon making space for other ways
(21:22):
of thinking and other ways ofresponding in my own classroom
tomorrow?
Yeah, how do we do that?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yeah.
So, and just to share, I lovethe arts.
I started to like conceptual,or finally adopt the identity as
an artist when I'm like, oh mygosh, I love photography, I love
creative writing, when I thinkabout the arts and the role that
they played in sustaining methroughout school, because that
was just a way for me to makesense of all these boxes,
identity boxes that I've beenplaced in, and so, through dance
(21:49):
, creative dance, modern dance,ballet, all the different arts
that I was involved in and Ijust will never forget.
And just again, going back tofreedom, made me feel very free
in my own little world orfictional characters that I
would write and create.
So when I think about teachers,I think about I'll give.
When I was in Harlem, new York,when I taught in Harlem, new
York, I had many differentopportunities for my students.
(22:10):
So I just one example like we'dhave an argumentative unit.
They would read like a book bySharon Draper, and so instead of
just saying, write an essayabout it, I would give them
options.
We would call it like a choiceboard.
You can write a poem, you cancreate a podcast, you could
create a play with you know, asmall theatrical play with two
(22:31):
of your maybe two to threeclassmates.
So that was something that Iwould do.
I would always think about whatmediums could students use to
showcase what they know, notjust like what they know, but
also teaching the classroom.
I would always say that mystudents were also, you know,
co-teachers in the learningspace, and I am really big on
partnering with communityorganizations.
(22:53):
So we had Harlem Theater cometo my classroom.
I worked with another teacher,we invited them in, and so
sometimes, you know,understanding that just because
I'm the teacher, I'm not theonly one who is teaching I would
bring in, you know, communityeducators and also the Schomburg
Museum.
We would, you know, go todifferent sites like that, and
it's one thing to read aboutMalcolm X in Harlem, but it's
(23:15):
another thing to go to theSchomburg Museum and actually,
you know, be immersed in thathistory.
And so I would say, teachers,one provide choices around the
type of mediums that areavailable to showcase, you know,
especially in the age of CommonCore and all these different
standards, but then also neverunderestimating what's right
there in the community,especially communities of color,
(23:35):
especially communities withdeep, rich histories, and so
partnering with people in thecommunity and bringing them
inside the classroom, or takingthe classroom, you know, to
community spaces.
So I think that's reallyimportant too.
And another way of thinkingabout integrating the arts.
I think we probably all know ittoday that youth are like
running technology, it's theirworld, and sometimes it could be
(23:57):
seen as like a bad thing, butif you really look at the skills
, the time, the strategy, theknowledge that goes into a lot
of the things that youth createonline, bringing those skills
into the classroom in a way, inways that are, you know, safe
for the learning community, butdrawing on the skills and
knowledge that the studentsalready have, you know.
(24:19):
And so I would just say thosethree things One, diversifying
the ways that students are ableto showcase and engage with the
content in the classroom.
Two, I'm thinking aboutcommunity partnerships.
So thinking about the classroombeyond the walls of the school,
beyond the walls of theclassroom, partnering with
people in the community, takingyouth out into the community.
And then, finally, reallydrawing on what students already
(24:40):
have and what they're alreadyusing.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
You've got some fantastic ideas and some, I
think, real ways that anyonecould get started on this kind
of path.
And while you were talkingabout things that you've done
and potential opportunities, Igot this image in my mind, of
sort of this 360 degree view ofwhat school could be like and
how that whole entity of schooland including community members
(25:08):
and a variety of resources italso contributes to a whole 360
degree understanding of who weare as learners.
And I think the opposite istrue too right.
Whenever school is reduced tobells and lines and right and
you know perfunctory kinds ofmissions, then I think in my
(25:30):
mind I see a shrinking kind ofpersonal identity.
Oh, yeah, so yeah, I reallyappreciate that and I tend to be
a very visual thinker.
So, as you're describing that,I think about the world all
around us and how we can bringthat in to make sense of who we
are and the ideas that we'relearning.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
So, and that really connects to the point that I
made earlier about like whatinforms my experiences, because
there's anything I've learnedfrom traveling as a young girl
and even now as an adult in mytravels, is that money right
Class that determines, again inyour zip code, the type of
education that you get.
So I do know that.
You know, I remember I had todo an observation on the Upper
(26:09):
East Side of New York City.
It was like the Dalton Schooland they were immersed in the
youth in the community throughtheir travels.
People were brought in, authorswere brought in, and so I'm
like, why can't we replicatethat?
For you know, title I schoolsfor schools where it's
predominantly black and brownyouth.
And so I think about when Ithink about the arts.
(26:30):
You can think about over thelast two decades, how many art
programs were eliminated frompublic schools across the nation
.
And so that really takes me backto this idea of access and
making sure that students,despite where you are, that you
are going to the museum and Iknow there's obviously ways to
think about museums right in anon colonial context but that
you are able to have authentic.
(26:51):
You know you get to hear Iinvited authors to my classroom
for the graphic novels.
They came to speak to mystudents, so there are ways
around it that can take place athome without having to leave
the community.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Right.
We've all gotten so used totalking with each other through
platforms like zoom and otherkinds of technologies.
You know, I think sometimes, ifyou can't get to them, perhaps
they can come to you through themagic of technology, absolutely
, and while that may not beexactly the same, yeah.
I would think that it's betterthan not doing it at all.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
I agree.
I agree yes.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
And if you are, if that's what we have access to,
then I you know, I think thatthere are so many opportunities
that we can explore and even ifyou think I don't have, you know
, the funding to get my kidsthere.
We aren't allowed to leave theschool right there.
Regulations around field trips,true, but chances are you can
explore using, usingtechnologies.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Absolutely.
And I will say, when I was aclassroom teacher, I was a rebel
with a cause.
I would say I know we'resupposed to do it this way, but
I'm going to do it this way.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
I happen to think there's a lot of value in that,
so Absolutely.
Yep, yeah.
So, Likia, given the challengesof today's educational climate,
nice segue there into this nextquestion what message do you
want teachers to hear?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
I like to say I guess we're doing a full, bringing it
back to kind of where westarted that there is no
demarcation line betweeneducation and society.
And I mean, if we go back to thehistory of schools and how they
were created and why certainpopulations were even given
access to an education here inthe United States, it was always
for some societal or economicgain or political gain.
(28:36):
And so I would just say,thinking about how education is
very much connected to society,and to not get it's easier said
than done, but to not get asbogged down by all the
systematic things that arehappening, and to understand the
power that you hold as aneducator and I always tell my
students that because you have aperspective, even whether it's
(28:57):
like you listen into a podcastor you know be reading an
article whatever or reading abook, or that you hold a
perspective that could trulychange a student's experience in
the classroom.
And so hold on to that, hold onto the fact that you think
about writing differently, thatyou think about racial justice
in the classroom differently,and no, you may not change the
(29:19):
policy in your district, butyour students in the classroom
will remember that they wereinvited to create a play instead
of, you know, the fiveparagraph essay, and so thinking
about how your knowledge, yourexperience, especially your
lived experiences as an educator, can and does have the power to
truly change and alter andtransform what happens and can
(29:43):
happen in your classroom.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
What a powerful message, and I thank you for
sharing that, because I think itis easy to lose sight of
ourselves as full and totalhumans, particularly when we're
surrounded by dehumanizingpolicies and, unfortunately,
even dehumanizing people.
So I really appreciate that andI think that there is so much
(30:05):
power to be found in our ownsort of personal spaces, where
we work and where we play andwhere we live.
So I thank you so much for that.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
You're so welcome.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Well, Laquia, I thank you for your time today.
I thank you for sharing yourideas and appreciate your
contributions to the world ofeducation.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Thank you so much for having me and giving me this
space to be in community withyou.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Dr Laquia Alfalalu is an ethnographic scholar who
specializes in the intersectionsof language, literacy, race and
identity.
She has a hybrid identity as aNigerian and African American.
Coupled with her former role asa middle school teacher
influenced her current researchproject, which explores the role
of language literacies,including digital literacies and
(30:50):
black African immigrant youthidentity construction and
negotiations across schoolcommunity and digital spaces.
This is on how United Statesracialization processes and
racial identity constructs,reshapes their identity,
languages and literacy practices.
Laquia draws on her livedexperiences, the wisdom of her
(31:11):
former middle school studentsand the arts to inform her
creative approaches to shiftingstatic ideas about identity.
A critical part of her workincludes putting her research
and critical theories intopractice through school and
community partnerships tosupport youth of color
identities and well-being.
Dr Alfalalu is a scholars ofcolor transitioning into
(31:31):
academic research institutionsor STAR Fellow with the Literacy
Research Association.
She is also a National Councilof Teachers of English
cultivating new voices or CNBFellow.
Her work won the AmericanEducational Research Association
bilingual education researchspecial interest groups
outstanding dissertation award.
In collaboration withcolleagues, she served as a
(31:54):
co-principal investigator andadvisory board member for a
William T Grant Foundation grant, offering critical literacy
insights and knowledge.
Her academic research extendsacross the fields of literacy,
language education, sociology,as well as immigration and race
and ethnic studies, and hasappeared in the Journal of
Literacy Research, journal ofAdolescent and Adult Literacy,
(32:16):
teacher's College Record and theJournal of Research and
Childhood Education.
She also uses her teaching,creative writing and public
speaking to advocate for youthand families, fostering public
conversations and social impactin relation to identity and
education.
She has spoken on TEDx talks,national Public Radio and at
SXSW.
(32:37):
Her writing has been featuredin Essence Magazine and Zora
Magazine.
Most recently, dr Afalalufounded a nonprofit organization
, liddy Arts that'sL-I-T-I-A-R-T-S, which uses
literacy, the arts andmentorship to advance
educational equity for youth ofcolor, while keeping their
identities and well-being at thecore.
(32:58):
Dr Afalalu holds a Bachelor ofArts degree in elementary
education from Michigan StateUniversity, a Masters of Arts in
Curriculum and TeachingLiteracy from the Teacher's
College at Columbia Universityand a PhD in Language and
Literacy Studies from theUniversity of Texas at Austin.
Dr Lakiya Afalalu is currentlyan assistant professor of
(33:19):
Language, literacy and Cultureat the University of Washington.
You can reach her online atLakiyaAffalalucom.
That'sL-A-K-E-Y-A-A-F-O-L-A-L-Ucom.
For the good of all students,classroom Caffeine aims to
energize education, research andpractice.
(33:41):
If this show provides you withthings to think about.
Don't keep it a secret.
Subscribe, like and review thispodcast through your preferred
podcast provider.
I also invite you to connectwith the show through our
website atwwwclassroomcaffeinecom, where
you can learn more about eachguest, find transcripts for many
(34:05):
episodes, explore episodetopics using our tagging feature
, support podcast researchthrough our survey, request an
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questions that we might respondto through the show.
You could also leave us a voicemessage or a text message at
1941-212-0949.
(34:29):
We would love to hear from you.
As always, I raise my mug toyou, teachers.
Thanks for joining me.
Education Research has a problem the work of
brilliant education researchersoften doesn't reach the practice
of brilliant teachers.
Classroom Caffeine is here tohelp.
In each episode, I talk with atop education researcher or an
expert educator about what theyhave learned from years of
(00:32):
research and experiences.
In this episode, dr LikiaAfilalu talks to us about
freedom, identity as an outcomeof language and literacy, and
arts as a key to communicatingan expression.
Dr Afilalu is an ethnographicscholar who specializes in the
(00:52):
intersections of language,literacy, race and identity.
Her hybrid identity as aNigerian and African American
influenced her current researchproject, which explores the role
of language and literacies,including digital literacies, in
Black African immigrant youth,identity constructions and
negotiations across schoolcommunity and digital spaces.
(01:13):
Dr Afilalu pays particularattention to the intersection of
racialization and socializationprocesses that influence
identities.
She draws on her livedexperiences, the wisdom of her
former middle school studentsand the arts to inform her
approach to shifting staticideas about identity.
Dr Afilalu is a Scholar ofColor, transitioning into
(01:35):
academic research institutionsor STAR Fellow with the Literacy
Research Association, and herwork won the American
Educational Research AssociationBilingual Education Research
Special Interest Group'sOutstanding Dissertation Award.
Dr Likia Afilalu is currentlyan assistant professor of
Language Literacy and Culture atthe University of Washington.
(01:56):
For more information about ourguest, stay tuned to the end of
this episode.
So pour a cup of your favoritedrink and join me your host
Lindsay Persan for ClassroomCaffeine research to energize
your teaching practice.
Likia, thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Welcome to the show, thank you so much for having me.
It's truly a pleasure.
Seriously, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
So, from your own experiences and education, will
you share with us one or twomoments that inform your
thinking now?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, that's a great question.
I think about one memory thatsticks with me in particular,
and that is so.
I grew up in Detroit, michigan,and my mom and her sister were
very close while we were growingup.
So my mom has three children,my aunt has four children, so on
the weekends what we would dois we would drive from Detroit
with my mom and my sisters andwe would go about a few miles
(02:51):
north to Arbenhills, which is asuburb right outside of Detroit,
and so we would be playing withour cousins and things like
that.
And me I was about seven oreight and I would just never
forget the differences.
Like my cousins would come homewith these chapter books from
school.
They would have the longerversions of the shortened
versions that we had at Detroitpublic schools.
And so that's when I didn't knowwhat it was called back then.
(03:11):
Looking back, I was like, oh,bazel text readers versus access
to the full book, and so wewould spend time going back and
forth in the summer as well asjust throughout the school year,
and I noticed very early howvastly different our educational
experiences were.
And I didn't know what that was.
I didn't know any terms likeequity, access or things like
that back then.
But I realized that, oh wow,where you live, your zip code,
(03:34):
truly does determine the type ofeducation and the quality of
education that you get.
And so I've moved through life,continue to go through
elementary, and then anotherthing that came up was when I
was in middle school and Ididn't even know this was
happening my teachers hadn'tprepared me for it but some guy
who walks into my schoolbuilding and we go into this
room and we have thisconversation and he's
(03:54):
interviewing me, and I find outa few months later that I was
recruited to go to theirboarding school in Wisconsin
based on my state test scores,and I had to make a really
important decision.
I was what?
12, 13 at the time.
So do I go to the high schoolthat I've been wanting to go to
for a while in Detroit, michigan, or do I leave family and
(04:15):
friends and go to a boardingschool in Wisconsin?
And I would never forget lookingat that brochure and everyone
there.
There was not a single facethat looked like mine, like
there were white students, therewere Asian students.
It was clearly an internationalschool and I was like, as much
as I love learning, reading andchallenging myself, this does
not look like the place for me,and so, really thinking about
how that informs my thinking now, I do believe that youth of
(04:38):
color, especially black youth,who live in communities, urban
communities, city communitieslike Detroit, I am really big on
making sure that they don'thave to leave home in order to
get a quality educationalexperience.
And so you know those smallmoments as a child, seven, eight
years old, and then again atmiddle school, these very
defining moments do still stickwith me and they informed the
(04:58):
way that I think about education, down to my teaching, how I
share my research now, this ideathat we have to leave home in
order to get something reallygood around education.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Wow.
First of all, it strikes me askind of an odd opportunity in
this day and age to beinterviewed to go to a boarding
school out of state at that age.
You know, it doesn't seem asthough that's a strong
opportunity for folks now and Ihope that means that it's
because they're getting a goodeducation close to home.
(05:27):
But, my fear is that a lot ofkids still aren't, and you know.
And so the other thing that Iwas really struck by, as you
were sharing those stories withus, laquia, is that, first of
all, yes, zip codes do really,really matter, but you know, the
ways in which our ownexperiences really shape who we
(05:48):
become as adults, and that's onereason I ask that question,
because I feel like it does leadus into the work that folks do
in their adult professionallives, because I think all of
those experiences, our owneducational experiences, they
point us in a particulardirection.
Right, they sort of point ourship one way or another.
Yeah, yeah.
(06:10):
And whether we're trying tocreate new experiences or new
opportunities for others, orsometimes it's just to uncover,
you know, the inequities ineducation.
Absolutely, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Yeah, it set me on a path.
I was like I decided at a veryearly age.
I was like I'm going to becomea teacher, I'm going to become
an educator, I'm going to teachin cities like mine, because I
just felt like every and thiswas me as a child saying every
child deserves a qualityeducation experience.
Granted, I wasn't using, Ididn't use those words, you know
, I and my mom she would talkabout I would play school at
(06:40):
home and, you know, just duringthe summer, I would always ask
her to buy me materials like achalkboard or a whiteboard.
And it did set me on a path,you know, to become an educator.
And when I think about what I'mdoing today, it still goes back
to that same idea.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Yeah, yeah, you're right.
And even even as kids, if wedon't have the language for it,
I think it is sort of thisembodied mindset, right, it is
just sort of part of of who weare.
I think there are so so manyfolks who become teachers who
can reflect on you know, whetherit's lining up stuffed animals
or bossing siblings around youknow, whatever the case may be
right, yes, it's in you.
(07:14):
It's in you from the start.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
It's in you.
My sisters would say we're notyour students, but you know.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
but so true, yes, so, lekea, what do you want
listeners to know about yourwork?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah, well, and you know, and I say whenever I like
think about this word orwhenever I think about this term
, it's a bit of a challenge,attention, if you will, to call
it work, because it's so muchconnected to my life and so much
connected to the lives ofothers.
But just to give an overview ofit, it's my work focuses on
black African immigrant youthand so really asking a few
(07:49):
questions.
So you know, especially in theWestern African region,
particularly Nigeria, and I aska few questions that I ask what
happens to their identity whenthey move to the United States,
and how does language literacy,and especially digital
literacies, play a role in theiridentity processes?
And so I ask those questionsmostly because, unlike a place
(08:10):
like Nigeria or Western Africathat's, it's not designed or
structured by race.
Obviously there's ethnicity,there's language, there's class,
lots of gender things happeningthere as well, but very
different from the United States, where you inherit a racial
identity and a huge part of youknow, showcasing who you are is
choosing a sense of belongingand through your race.
And so that's what my workfocuses on.
(08:32):
And the reason why I do focuson that work is because it's the
story of my life too.
My dad is Nigerian, he migratedto the United States in the
1980s and my mom is AfricanAmerican.
So many times during myschooling experience I thought a
lot about, or certainidentities, or certain cultural
expectations or values wereprojected onto me, as well as
(08:52):
when I was, you know, with myNigerian family, and so I just
always felt like who I was andthe way that I identified was
very much fragmented and a bitconstrained based on these
external identities, and so Ispent my entire life, like you
know, unraveling from them.
And so it really led me to myresearch when I was teaching in
Harlem, new York, seventh gradeclassroom, very diverse students
(09:14):
from all over the world PuertoRico, dominican Republic, west
African country, senegal, gambia, mali, and so New York is such
a diverse place.
But I noticed that my first genand even immigrant students who
had just migrated to the UnitedStates, for the most part, when
they came from, you know, latinAmerican, Central American
countries, they were very proudof their identities in the
(09:37):
classroom, like you know, wavingtheir flags.
But I noticed that I saw partsof myself reflected in my West
African students, where theydidn't necessarily showcase
their identities in theclassroom Now online.
They were very proud, you know,especially during Ramadan, and
you know, dressing up outsideand taking pictures, and I
thought, wow, here I am as anadult, years later, seeing the
same thing.
(09:57):
So it made me think about, well,what is it about school spaces
in particular that influence theway that African, immigrant,
first gen or even, you know,just immigrant youth show up in
the school spaces?
And so that is my work, and Iasked that question because what
I'm really getting to at thecore of my work, is this idea of
freedom, this idea that, youknow, youth get to choose who
(10:19):
they are, how they identify andways that they want to show up
in the world.
And I think that's so importantbecause for youth, you know,
there's this idea that you'reyoung and you should follow
instruction and followdirections, especially when you
add culture to the mix.
It's this idea that we are this, so we do it this way in our
culture, and that can be reallystifling.
And so, yeah, that's anoverview pretty much of like my
work.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
What you're saying, likia.
It just makes me think abouthow many different types of
identities young people arenavigating right and I can I can
feel sort of the weight of thatfragmentation, as you're
talking about that right,because school has a set of
expectations, families have aset of expectations, our own
(11:00):
communities have sets ofexpectations, and so making
sense of that and still feelingwhole and individual, it's such
big work and I don't know if we,if we, always acknowledge that
for young people.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yeah, and I love that you mentioned whole, because
what I noticed and what I withworking with the Nigerian youth
we were in central Texas andwhat I noticed was that, like
their language and literacypractices were less about like
communication, but it was likewhen I speak this way, when I
dress this way, I experience joyor I am happy, I feel connected
(11:36):
to my friends.
So really, that connectionbetween the social, the
emotional and why it's importantto be able to choose how you
show up in the world, and so I'mstarting to think about this a
little bit more now.
But it's really getting down tolike mental and emotional
health.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
I hope you'll say more about that, because this
idea that language and literacyis not really about
communicating right, it's reallyabout identity.
That's such a big idea to wrapour heads around, particularly
when school-based literaciestell us that it is all about
communication.
I'm hoping you'll share alittle bit more with us about
the work you've done and whatyou've learned from that work,
(12:13):
and maybe even how teachers cansupport young people doing this
kind of work, whether they knowthey're doing it or not.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Absolutely yeah.
And so, like I mentioned, Imostly saw it with the girls.
I worked with three girls,amazing Nigerian girls, and
three amazing Nigerian boys.
And so what happened?
Sadly and I just recently wrotea piece about this but this
idea that, like the silence thathappens in schools around their
accents and I put accents inair quotes because, at the end
(12:41):
of the day, we all have accents,right, so this accentent
English and so, because of thatexperience in school, the girls
would spend a lot of time onWhatsApp, on digital platforms,
communicating in ways, whetherthat's through Nigerian pigeon,
through gifts, through memes,through sharing songs, through
music, afro beats, in ways thatfelt authentic and unique to who
(13:04):
they were.
And so our identity, as manyscholars have written about, and
it even shows up in my own workour identity is an outcome of
our language and literacypractices that we use.
So to think that it's justcommunicative or that it's just
objective and just an assignment, that's not true.
And so what I found was thatwhen youth are given the
(13:26):
opportunity, the freedom andespecially given a diverse range
of ways to communicate, it doesimpact the social and emotional
aspects of our identities.
And so, just thinking about oneof the girls that I'm using
this suit and for this interview.
But her name was Sarai, and hermom described her as very
talkative before she came to theUnited States.
But she became really quiet andso she would spend more time
(13:48):
creative writing in class.
So writing was then now amedium through which she could
express herself, but not writingwhat the teacher wanted her to
write about, but topics of herinterest, and so that was one
way where she would just, youknow, express herself, feel a
sense of joy.
Also, the arts.
The arts are so important dance, different extracurricular
activities, music, visual artsand so how.
(14:08):
Those are very much connectedto the human experience and
those are literacies beyondsimply communication, and so I'm
really getting at the root ofcreativity.
I'm really talking aboutexpression and being able to
make those choices for self.
So, for teachers, the questionthat I would ask is how does
your classroom account for andallow diverse ways to
(14:28):
participate?
We live in the US.
Everything is very talk centric.
The main way to identifywhether or not someone is
participating is are you talking?
I didn't hear anything from you, but understanding that there
are multiple ways to participateand there are multiple ways to
express ourselves, and it's notjust through print and it's not
just through speaking.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Oh, that's so important.
You said a couple of thingsthere that I just wanted to kind
of pick back up on.
You talk about identity as anoutcome of language and literacy
, and I think for me that ofcourse, in my world, literacy is
, is so important, right.
Literacies, I should say, areso important, but when we frame
literacies as a part of identity, I think it just elevates it
(15:12):
that much more right?
Because, like you said, we'renot just talking about
communicating, but we're talkingabout how communication and the
ways that we communicate,becomes a part of who we are.
And so I think when in schools,when we limit students to
either, as you said, talking orwritten written word for
communicating, we aren't reallyallowing them to express their
(15:35):
full range of ideas, their fullrange of capabilities, or even
to become fully themselves.
And I think to some ears thatcould sound extreme, but I think
it's so true, right, I mean,what we say and what we write,
what we read, all of thosethings become a part of who we
are.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And I cannot take credit forthe idea that language, the
identity, is an outcome oflanguage and literacy.
I have to give credit to FabianDoucette.
She's a phenomenal scholar atNew York University, at NYU, but
I do want to say that it is,and the question I always like
to ask well, who's who'slistening and who's evaluating
right?
Because I always think about itmay sound extreme, but extreme
(16:14):
to whom when?
Like, is it for people who don'tnecessarily have to change the
way that they engage withliteracy practices across the
day?
Is it for people who don'tnecessarily have to trans
language right and think aboutways that we have to alter
speech or all these differentthings?
And I like to, even in myclasses now, when I'm working
with my students, it's, like youknow who gets to decide, who's
(16:36):
evaluating, who's determiningand making these decisions.
And I think to say, if itsounds extreme, then the
question is are we truly tappinginto and aiming to understand
youth experiences and I say it'snot just students, but youth,
because I like to think aboutthem as, like you know, people
outside of their academicidentities as well, right,
(16:57):
because their school experiencesare so much connected to who
they are outside as well.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Oh, that's so important.
I appreciate you sort ofreframing that idea and
reframing that thinking, becauseit is critical that we think
critically about whose voicematters and who gets to decide,
because I think so often insideof schools, the way things have
always been done, so to speak,right, it's the way things
(17:23):
continue to be done, absolutelyand without calling that into
question, we are sticking with astandard that privileges one
type of idea, one type of people, one type of history.
And if only right, if only wecould move away from some of
those ideas in education, someof those sort of baked in kinds
(17:44):
of challenges with the way thatwe serve kids at school.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Absolutely.
And just also like recalling itwhat it is to that one standard
privileging whiteness.
It truly is whiteness,privileging whiteness in school
spaces.
And that rigidity, thathesitation to change things is
also intentional.
It is by design.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Oh, yes, for sure.
And you know, I wonder if wewere to reach some sort of
critical mass of teachers whowere calling these practices
into question and were sayingwhy is it that we privilege this
one way of thinking or this oneway of communicating?
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Could we really?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
make a difference, Because it does seem as though
it's going to take.
It's going to take individualchange, but it's also going to
take some systemic change toreally give kids space to be who
they are and become who they'rebecoming.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Absolutely.
And so another thing I guessthis is like on the other
extreme, and I again in my ownresearch, my own work, my own
life, and I always challenge mystudents, my pre-service
teachers as well as my graduatestudents, to really think about
do we want to give the mostauthentic parts of ourselves to
academic and educational spacestoo?
(18:52):
Right, so, even allowingstudents to have some choice
around that, the invitationshould be there, and the idea
that there are multiple ways toparticipate should be there.
But it is still the decision ofthe youth, not the educator,
how that participation is goingto be demonstrated, if you will.
And so I think the invitationshould always be there, that
(19:15):
there should always be a diversearray of ways to participate.
But if a student says, I'mactually not comfortable, or
especially around things, withculture, because identity is a
very touchy subject and it's sopersonal, so intimate, so
vulnerable, but alsounderstanding that if a student
does not want to, then that's anoption as well.
(19:35):
That goes back to that freedomand that choice and that
autonomy.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
I think you just blew my mind a little bit and I
certainly appreciate that anytime it happens, Because school
also tells us that we are tolisten and do what we're told
and check off all the boxes andget all the good grades.
But you're absolutely right,Kids should also have the
freedom and the flexibility tosay not me, not, right now, I
(20:03):
can't do this, or I'm not thereyet, or I need time, or I need
to respond differently, or Ineed to refrain from responding.
And so, yeah, I reallyappreciate that reminder and I
mean we are talking about truefreedom here.
We are talking about freedomand autonomy and really having
some control over the way thatour school day or our day in
(20:24):
general plays out, Because Ithink for so many youth, their
time is rather school-centricright, I mean, it's where they
spend most of their waking hours, so that's understandable.
But, yes, having that kind offreedom and flexibility and
control within those seven toeight hours a day or, in some
places, even more that they'respending in schools, that's just
(20:45):
so important.
And you've given me a lot tocontinue thinking about, about
how we make space for youth tobe humans, fully humans.
Yes, that right there.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
So you also mentioned the arts as a key to
communication and expression,and I'm aware that you are a bit
of an artist yourself also, andso I'm hoping that you may
share some whether personal orprofessional insights into how
that might look.
Or, if you know, if I were ateacher listening to this
episode, how could I get startedon making space for other ways
(21:22):
of thinking and other ways ofresponding in my own classroom
tomorrow?
Yeah, how do we do that?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yeah.
So, and just to share, I lovethe arts.
I started to like conceptual,or finally adopt the identity as
an artist when I'm like, oh mygosh, I love photography, I love
creative writing, when I thinkabout the arts and the role that
they played in sustaining methroughout school, because that
was just a way for me to makesense of all these boxes,
identity boxes that I've beenplaced in, and so, through dance
(21:49):
, creative dance, modern dance,ballet, all the different arts
that I was involved in and Ijust will never forget.
And just again, going back tofreedom, made me feel very free
in my own little world orfictional characters that I
would write and create.
So when I think about teachers,I think about I'll give.
When I was in Harlem, new York,when I taught in Harlem, new
York, I had many differentopportunities for my students.
(22:10):
So I just one example like we'dhave an argumentative unit.
They would read like a book bySharon Draper, and so instead of
just saying, write an essayabout it, I would give them
options.
We would call it like a choiceboard.
You can write a poem, you cancreate a podcast, you could
create a play with you know, asmall theatrical play with two
(22:31):
of your maybe two to threeclassmates.
So that was something that Iwould do.
I would always think about whatmediums could students use to
showcase what they know, notjust like what they know, but
also teaching the classroom.
I would always say that mystudents were also, you know,
co-teachers in the learningspace, and I am really big on
partnering with communityorganizations.
(22:53):
So we had Harlem Theater cometo my classroom.
I worked with another teacher,we invited them in, and so
sometimes, you know,understanding that just because
I'm the teacher, I'm not theonly one who is teaching I would
bring in, you know, communityeducators and also the Schomburg
Museum.
We would, you know, go todifferent sites like that, and
it's one thing to read aboutMalcolm X in Harlem, but it's
(23:15):
another thing to go to theSchomburg Museum and actually,
you know, be immersed in thathistory.
And so I would say, teachers,one provide choices around the
type of mediums that areavailable to showcase, you know,
especially in the age of CommonCore and all these different
standards, but then also neverunderestimating what's right
there in the community,especially communities of color,
(23:35):
especially communities withdeep, rich histories, and so
partnering with people in thecommunity and bringing them
inside the classroom, or takingthe classroom, you know, to
community spaces.
So I think that's reallyimportant too.
And another way of thinkingabout integrating the arts.
I think we probably all know ittoday that youth are like
running technology, it's theirworld, and sometimes it could be
(23:57):
seen as like a bad thing, butif you really look at the skills
, the time, the strategy, theknowledge that goes into a lot
of the things that youth createonline, bringing those skills
into the classroom in a way, inways that are, you know, safe
for the learning community, butdrawing on the skills and
knowledge that the studentsalready have, you know.
(24:19):
And so I would just say thosethree things One, diversifying
the ways that students are ableto showcase and engage with the
content in the classroom.
Two, I'm thinking aboutcommunity partnerships.
So thinking about the classroombeyond the walls of the school,
beyond the walls of theclassroom, partnering with
people in the community, takingyouth out into the community.
And then, finally, reallydrawing on what students already
(24:40):
have and what they're alreadyusing.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
You've got some fantastic ideas and some, I
think, real ways that anyonecould get started on this kind
of path.
And while you were talkingabout things that you've done
and potential opportunities, Igot this image in my mind, of
sort of this 360 degree view ofwhat school could be like and
how that whole entity of schooland including community members
(25:08):
and a variety of resources italso contributes to a whole 360
degree understanding of who weare as learners.
And I think the opposite istrue too right.
Whenever school is reduced tobells and lines and right and
you know perfunctory kinds ofmissions, then I think in my
(25:30):
mind I see a shrinking kind ofpersonal identity.
Oh, yeah, so yeah, I reallyappreciate that and I tend to be
a very visual thinker.
So, as you're describing that,I think about the world all
around us and how we can bringthat in to make sense of who we
are and the ideas that we'relearning.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
So, and that really connects to the point that I
made earlier about like whatinforms my experiences, because
there's anything I've learnedfrom traveling as a young girl
and even now as an adult in mytravels, is that money right
Class that determines, again inyour zip code, the type of
education that you get.
So I do know that.
You know, I remember I had todo an observation on the Upper
(26:09):
East Side of New York City.
It was like the Dalton Schooland they were immersed in the
youth in the community throughtheir travels.
People were brought in, authorswere brought in, and so I'm
like, why can't we replicatethat?
For you know, title I schoolsfor schools where it's
predominantly black and brownyouth.
And so I think about when Ithink about the arts.
(26:30):
You can think about over thelast two decades, how many art
programs were eliminated frompublic schools across the nation
.
And so that really takes me backto this idea of access and
making sure that students,despite where you are, that you
are going to the museum and Iknow there's obviously ways to
think about museums right in anon colonial context but that
you are able to have authentic.
(26:51):
You know you get to hear Iinvited authors to my classroom
for the graphic novels.
They came to speak to mystudents, so there are ways
around it that can take place athome without having to leave
the community.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Right.
We've all gotten so used totalking with each other through
platforms like zoom and otherkinds of technologies.
You know, I think sometimes, ifyou can't get to them, perhaps
they can come to you through themagic of technology, absolutely
, and while that may not beexactly the same, yeah.
I would think that it's betterthan not doing it at all.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
I agree.
I agree yes.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
And if you are, if that's what we have access to,
then I you know, I think thatthere are so many opportunities
that we can explore and even ifyou think I don't have, you know
, the funding to get my kidsthere.
We aren't allowed to leave theschool right there.
Regulations around field trips,true, but chances are you can
explore using, usingtechnologies.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Absolutely.
And I will say, when I was aclassroom teacher, I was a rebel
with a cause.
I would say I know we'resupposed to do it this way, but
I'm going to do it this way.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
I happen to think there's a lot of value in that,
so Absolutely.
Yep, yeah.
So, Likia, given the challengesof today's educational climate,
nice segue there into this nextquestion what message do you
want teachers to hear?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
I like to say I guess we're doing a full, bringing it
back to kind of where westarted that there is no
demarcation line betweeneducation and society.
And I mean, if we go back to thehistory of schools and how they
were created and why certainpopulations were even given
access to an education here inthe United States, it was always
for some societal or economicgain or political gain.
(28:36):
And so I would just say,thinking about how education is
very much connected to society,and to not get it's easier said
than done, but to not get asbogged down by all the
systematic things that arehappening, and to understand the
power that you hold as aneducator and I always tell my
students that because you have aperspective, even whether it's
(28:57):
like you listen into a podcastor you know be reading an
article whatever or reading abook, or that you hold a
perspective that could trulychange a student's experience in
the classroom.
And so hold on to that, hold onto the fact that you think
about writing differently, thatyou think about racial justice
in the classroom differently,and no, you may not change the
(29:19):
policy in your district, butyour students in the classroom
will remember that they wereinvited to create a play instead
of, you know, the fiveparagraph essay, and so thinking
about how your knowledge, yourexperience, especially your
lived experiences as an educator, can and does have the power to
truly change and alter andtransform what happens and can
(29:43):
happen in your classroom.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
What a powerful message, and I thank you for
sharing that, because I think itis easy to lose sight of
ourselves as full and totalhumans, particularly when we're
surrounded by dehumanizingpolicies and, unfortunately,
even dehumanizing people.
So I really appreciate that andI think that there is so much
(30:05):
power to be found in our ownsort of personal spaces, where
we work and where we play andwhere we live.
So I thank you so much for that.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
You're so welcome.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Well, Laquia, I thank you for your time today.
I thank you for sharing yourideas and appreciate your
contributions to the world ofeducation.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Thank you so much for having me and giving me this
space to be in community withyou.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Dr Laquia Alfalalu is an ethnographic scholar who
specializes in the intersectionsof language, literacy, race and
identity.
She has a hybrid identity as aNigerian and African American.
Coupled with her former role asa middle school teacher
influenced her current researchproject, which explores the role
of language literacies,including digital literacies and
(30:50):
black African immigrant youthidentity construction and
negotiations across schoolcommunity and digital spaces.
This is on how United Statesracialization processes and
racial identity constructs,reshapes their identity,
languages and literacy practices.
Laquia draws on her livedexperiences, the wisdom of her
(31:11):
former middle school studentsand the arts to inform her
creative approaches to shiftingstatic ideas about identity.
A critical part of her workincludes putting her research
and critical theories intopractice through school and
community partnerships tosupport youth of color
identities and well-being.
Dr Alfalalu is a scholars ofcolor transitioning into
(31:31):
academic research institutionsor STAR Fellow with the Literacy
Research Association.
She is also a National Councilof Teachers of English
cultivating new voices or CNBFellow.
Her work won the AmericanEducational Research Association
bilingual education researchspecial interest groups
outstanding dissertation award.
In collaboration withcolleagues, she served as a
(31:54):
co-principal investigator andadvisory board member for a
William T Grant Foundation grant, offering critical literacy
insights and knowledge.
Her academic research extendsacross the fields of literacy,
language education, sociology,as well as immigration and race
and ethnic studies, and hasappeared in the Journal of
Literacy Research, journal ofAdolescent and Adult Literacy,
(32:16):
teacher's College Record and theJournal of Research and
Childhood Education.
She also uses her teaching,creative writing and public
speaking to advocate for youthand families, fostering public
conversations and social impactin relation to identity and
education.
She has spoken on TEDx talks,national Public Radio and at
SXSW.
(32:37):
Her writing has been featuredin Essence Magazine and Zora
Magazine.
Most recently, dr Afalalufounded a nonprofit organization
, liddy Arts that'sL-I-T-I-A-R-T-S, which uses
literacy, the arts andmentorship to advance
educational equity for youth ofcolor, while keeping their
identities and well-being at thecore.
(32:58):
Dr Afalalu holds a Bachelor ofArts degree in elementary
education from Michigan StateUniversity, a Masters of Arts in
Curriculum and TeachingLiteracy from the Teacher's
College at Columbia Universityand a PhD in Language and
Literacy Studies from theUniversity of Texas at Austin.
Dr Lakiya Afalalu is currentlyan assistant professor of
(33:19):
Language, literacy and Cultureat the University of Washington.
You can reach her online atLakiyaAffalalucom.
That'sL-A-K-E-Y-A-A-F-O-L-A-L-Ucom.
For the good of all students,classroom Caffeine aims to
energize education, research andpractice.
(33:41):
If this show provides you withthings to think about.
Don't keep it a secret.
Subscribe, like and review thispodcast through your preferred
podcast provider.
I also invite you to connectwith the show through our
website atwwwclassroomcaffeinecom, where
you can learn more about eachguest, find transcripts for many
(34:05):
episodes, explore episodetopics using our tagging feature
, support podcast researchthrough our survey, request an
episode topic or a potentialguest, or share your own
questions that we might respondto through the show.
You could also leave us a voicemessage or a text message at
1941-212-0949.
(34:29):
We would love to hear from you.
As always, I raise my mug toyou, teachers.
Thanks for joining me.
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