Roberto Germán [00:00:01]:
Welcome to Our Classroom. In this space, we talk about education, which is inclusive of, but not limited to what happens in schools. Education is taking place whenever and wherever we are willing to learn. I am your host, Roberto Germán, and Our Classroom is officially in session.
Roberto Germán [00:00:28]:
What's good, peeps? We back at it. You already know. Check it out. What if the problem isn't that students hate reading? What if the problem is that we've reduced ELA to compliance? What if students aren't disengaged from literacy, but disengaged from lifeless literacy? You already know, this is our classroom, and today we're going to talk about something I deeply believe, which is that ELA needs to be revived, reimagined, remembered differently. Not just for test scores. Test not just for standards. Here we go. Not just for rigor, but for joy, imagination, identity, dreaming, healing, liberation.
Roberto Germán [00:01:18]:
ELA is back, folks, and I think educators are hungry for that reality. Somewhere along the way, many classrooms lost the magic. Reading became extracting. Writing became formulaic. Discussion became compliance. Creativity became optional. What a shame. An imagination almost treated like a distraction instead of a necessity.
Roberto Germán [00:01:51]:
Students are asked, find the themes, cite the evidence, identify the metaphor, write the essay, but rarely imagine another world, reimagine society, tell the truth, create possibility, dream beyond what currently exists. And yet, that's exactly what literature has always done. Toni Morrison did it. James Baldwin did it. Octavia Butler did it. Lorraine Hansberry did it. Jason Reynolds, Elizabeth Acevedo. ELA was never supposed to teach students how to decode text.
Roberto Germán [00:02:39]:
ELA was supposed to help students decode humanity. And really, when we think about it, we need to do some more imagining. Right? Students are growing up in a world shaped by war and political division and
Roberto Germán [00:02:56]:
AI
Roberto Germán [00:03:00]:
climate, anxiety, racism, loneliness, misinformation, fear. Feel A only teaches students how to pass tests. We are failing them. I'm sorry, but we're here to tell the truth. Students need opportunities to speculate and envision, to question, to critique, to create, to dream. That's rigorous work. Imagination is rigorous. In fact, imagination may be one of the most intellectually demanding things we ask students to do.
Roberto Germán [00:03:34]:
Because imagination requires synthesis and empathy, historical understanding, creativity, analysis, courage. To imagine a better world, students first have to understand the current1. That's ELA. One thing I'm excited about is this upcoming institute that Lorena German and Lamar Timmons-Long are going to facilitate. Excited about that? You know, we always cooking up something here at Multicultural Classroom. And this. This I would say, is something that's going to ground work and black scholarship. Because black literary Traditions have always understood imagination as survival.
Roberto Germán [00:04:23]:
Black writers have long used storytelling and speculative fiction.
Roberto Germán [00:04:31]:
Did I say that word right? Speculative.
Roberto Germán [00:04:35]:
It didn't roll off my tongue smoothly the first time. But they also use poetry, symbolism, futurism, oral tradition to imagine freedom before freedom existed. Think about that. Before liberation became policy, it first existed in imagination and that matters. David Butler imagined futures. Langston Hughes imagined dignity, bell hooks imagined education as liberation. Tony Cade Bambara imagined transformation. James Baldwin imagined honesty powerful enough to change a nation.
Roberto Germán [00:05:15]:
This is not extra, it's foundational. And students deserve classrooms where literacy feels alive again. Where reading sparks conversation and writing becomes self expression and discussion becomes community. Analysis becomes discovery. Texts connect to real life. And yes, where joy is present. Academic joy, not watered down. Learning, not entertainment, not avoiding rigor, real engagement.
Roberto Germán [00:05:45]:
Students should leave ELA saying, I never thought about it like that before. I didn't know books could do that. I didn't know my voice mattered. See, that's the goal. If you're a neon lay teacher listening right now, you've felt exhausted and boxed in, uninspired, burnt out by pacing. Guys, we've been there. If you felt disconnected from why you became a literacy educator in the first place, this institute is for you. Not because we have all the answers, but because we believe ELA can still deeply matter.
Roberto Germán [00:06:25]:
We believe literacy can still transform people. We believe imagination still belongs in schools. And we believe students deserve classrooms where humanity, creativity, rigor, identity and possibility can coexist. That's why Multicultural Classroom is hosting Reviving ela, a speculative methods institute. It's going to be facilitated by Lorena Germán and Lamar Timmons-Long on June 5th and June 6th, 9:30am to 12 noon Eastern. Pull on up. Pop into our classroom. We're going deep into speculative methods and culturally relevant instruction.
Roberto Germán [00:07:14]:
Imagination as pedagogy, Black scholarship, literacy as liberation, rigorous creative practice. And most importantly, how to help students imagine a new world. Because ELA is not dead, we just forgot what it was capable of. So DM us, if you have questions, reach out, send an email. And if funding's an issue, you could reach out. We can help you think through how to request support from your school or district. Let's wrap this school year up with purpose. Let's bring ELA back.
Roberto Germán [00:07:51]:
All right. We look forward to connecting with you and are very excited to engage in this critical topic. Peace and blessings.
Roberto Germán [00:08:06]:
As always. Your engagement in Our Classroom is greatly appreciated. Be sure to subscribe, rate the show and write a review. Finally, for resources to help you understand the intersection of race, bias, education and society. Go to multiculturalclassroom.com Peace and love from your host, Roberto Germán.
Roberto Germán [00:08:34]:
Sam.
