Review of The vulnerable heart of literacy: Centering trauma as powerful pedagogy.

Authors

Zipporah Galimore, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow

Abstract

In The Vulnerable Heart of Literacy: Centering Trauma as Powerful Pedagogy (2019), Elizabeth Dutro provides educators with heart-felt, inquiry-based strategies for using trauma as pedagogy in literacy classrooms. This book describes how to situate both educators and children to provide testimony and be critical witnesses in an effort to allow life knowledge, empathy, and wisdom be brought to classroom learning experiences. Dutro uses classroom vignettes and student work samples to illustrate how the concept of trauma as pedagogy can be applied across genres. Experiences and examples of literacy instruction in children's work from several elementary classrooms, from second grade through fifth grade are discussed. The research team’s roles ranged from classroom teacher to university-based researcher. The Vulnerable Heart of Literacy helps educators understand how pedagogy as a testimony and critical witnesses are powerful for all children's literacy learning.

Recommended Citation

Galimore, Zipporah (2020) "Review of The vulnerable heart of literacy: Centering trauma as powerful pedagogy.," The Language and Literacy Spectrum: Vol. 30: Iss. 1, Article 9.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/lls/vol30/iss1/9