Teaching for Joy and Justice: Re-Imagining the Language Arts Classroom

This book changed my life. Linda Christensen is a goddess, a wonderful pioneer of progressive teaching. She shows you how teaching goes beyond standards and can get at the soul of your students. This book is everything I aspire to be as an English teacher. Everyday when I walk into my classromo, I hope to embody the spirit of this book and this wonderful woman. If you are a teacher that feels uninspired and burned out with lesson plans, bureaucracy, meetings, and grading, read this book to quench your parched spirit. I promise it will not disappoint.

I bought this book as a required text for a graduate-level English Education course I am taking this semester, and quickly realized that this is a fantastic text about teaching writing from a social justice perspective.Linda Christensen, a veteran English/Language Arts teacher (or, as she puts it in the introduction, "a social justice educator in a language arts classroom"), enthusiastically shares her classroom-tested ideas for making writing instruction a central part of the curriculum by empowering students of all backgrounds and skill levels to write about their lives and experiences. She discusses ways to teach writing genres (poetry, narrative writing, and essays), ways to link writing instruction to literature, the relationship between language and power, and her philosophy regarding responding to and grading student work. Additionally, Christensen provides several examples of student work throughout the text to complement and illustrate her points. Even when addressing complex, theoretical concepts, the book remains easy to read and understand.The rich content found in this book is well worth its $20 price tag. Every English/Language Arts educator should not only own a copy--they should also immediately incorporate Christensen's philosophy into their own classrooms for the benefit of their students.

She has such a distinct point of view. The book feels like having a conversation with a veteran teacher. Her passion is evident; such a great read.

I donated this book. I didn't feel it was applicable to what I do or would do at some point in the future.

Must read for teachers. Christensen puts her heart and soul in this text and all of her other offerings. She provides live examples, creating questioning teacher minds. Highly recommend.

I feel this is relevant for any teacher but especially for those who teach high school English! Authentic instructional strategies that embrace the diverse cultures students bring to the classroom and honor who they are as well as provide opportunities to see themselves in the curriculum.

As a teacher, this is one of my favorite books. Middle school to high school students make connections with Justice and Joy and this book provides support, ideas and lessons to encourage students to think about the world.

I love everything Linda Christensen writes- this is no exception. So full of wisdom and compassion and practical, awesome lesson ideas. Love, love, love it.

So many links to the curriculum through rich social justice content.

Excellent and relevant