Keywords: literacy

Students of color repeatedly and unfairly bear the label of struggling reader and writer, but how often do educators ask why? What if the literacy skills these students have in their toolbox are simply different, but no less valuable, than traditional literacy skills? For example, students of color “may struggle with skills like decoding or reading fluency, but they can read social contexts and environments exceptionally well” (Muhammad, 2020, p. 41). Functionally speaking, this is an important skill that many otherwise literate people lack. The phrase “reading the room,” referring to a person’s ability to interpret social cues, comes to mind.

https://booksandbloom.com/2021/01/10/what-is-literacy