The Best for Our Children: Critical Perspectives on Literacy for Latino Students (Language and Literacy Series) - Softcover

This watershed volume brings together the foremost leading authorities and scholars lending their individual voices to a single, urgent issue: literacy for Latino students. In a departure from traditional paradigms, Latinos examine their own lived experiences in U.S. schools and offer sound theories born from positions of expertise and first-hand knowledge as researchers and educators. Their discussions and critical perspectives on literacy for Latino students in grades K-12 touch on the important topics of: Encouraging biliteracy in the classroom Constructing theories of possibility Promoting critically literate youth Organizing teaching and learning to students' potential Linking literacy to lived experiences As insiders in Spanish-speaking communities that are often maligned for their children's alleged "failure" in schools, these authors offer hope for children's academic potential as well as evidence showing that integration of native language and culture in supportive learning environments can lead to success in literacy in two languages.

Sonia Nieto is a professor emerita of language, literacy, and culture at the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.