Empowering Educators of Refugees as Teachers and Learners
For every lesson plan I toiled over while teaching English as a New Language for 16 years in New York City and Tucson high schools, there were at least 15–20 adjustments made as I enacted that lesson plan with real people in real time. The efforts I made in those moments—and in all the moments surrounding and contributing to those in-class moments—were largely unseen. When things were going well, my students didn’t know that I had pivoted or pirouetted or shifted activity or approach. Few administrators or colleagues had time to notice, discuss, or debrief with me about the nuances of practice. My knowledge in, of, and for practice was accumulating, but remained largely tacit and hidden.