In honor of Labor Day:

As a teacher, I want to acknowledge the wisdom that resides in my students’ homes. Because I live in a society that honors the wealthy and tends to hold in great esteem “high status” formal knowledge, I must find ways to honor the intelligence, common sense, and love that beats in the hearts of my students’ families. In my classroom, I want every student to feel pride in where they come from, in their heritage, and the people who clothe, shelter, and teach them

— from the chapter, “Sweet Learning,” in Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching about Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word by Linda Christensen