On February 18, award-winning authors and speakers Kylene Beers and Bob Probst joined the Literacy Lenses #G2Great Twitter chat to talk about critical topics from their new book, Forged by Reading: The Power of a Literate Life.
During the chat, participants discussed the critical role literacy has in supporting a healthy democracy, the responsibility we have as readers to decide what ideas shape us, the history of power and suppression as it relates to literacy, and what it actually means to live a literate life.
You can view the full #G2Great Twitter chat hosted by Dr. Mary Howard, Fran McVeigh, Jenn Hayhurst, Valinda Kimmel, Dr. Towanda Harris, and Brent Gilson, here. You can also read a reflection on the chat by Brent Gilson, here.
To learn more about Forged by Reading, click here.
To follow news about the authors and their book, follow @KyleneBeers, @BobProbst, and #ForgedByReading on Twitter.
Here are some of the powerful highlights from the discussion:
Welcome to #G2Great! We are so honored to have @KyleneBeers@BobProbst @Scholastic with us tonight! Let us know who is with us say hello and where you're from. @DrMaryHoward@franmcveigh @vrkimmel @mrbgilson @drtharris pic.twitter.com/kMixcvk1c0
— Jenn Hayhurst (@hayhurst3) February 19, 2021
Q1.@BobProbst@KyleneBeers @ScholasticEd #g2great pic.twitter.com/RwZGWX2wTt
— Fran McVeigh (she/her) (@franmcveigh) February 19, 2021
A1 Literacy is power - and in this country and the world - it has too often been about the suppression of power. That must change. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
A1 As a white educator, I must recognize that it is white educators that have, for too long, not discussed the suppression of power. Now @GholdyM, @ernestmorrell, @MisterMinor and many more help us know what we should have known all along. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
A1 Choice equals voice. And voice equals power. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
Q2.@BobProbst@KyleneBeers @ScholasticEd #g2great pic.twitter.com/MwUX89mbwz
— Fran McVeigh (she/her) (@franmcveigh) February 19, 2021
A2 If texts change people, then texts have the control. We can be made into what the writer wants us to be. But if the reader knows he is responsible for his own thoughts, he may be more thoughtful and more assertive. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
A2 If we - teachers - don’t book talk books that are beyond ourselves to reach all students, then we will have kept the power to ourselves. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
Q3.@BobProbst@KyleneBeers @ScholasticEd #g2great pic.twitter.com/7eN02dHmNu
— Fran McVeigh (she/her) (@franmcveigh) February 19, 2021
A3 By asking them to think about whether prior assumptions and thoughts have been confirmed, changed, or refuted. And by asking they if there are any implications in their reading: for changing their behaviors, by adopting or rejecting positions, by taking some action. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
A3 In #ForgedByReading, we suggest the BHH framework to help make the shift of reading with the possibility of change in mind. Here is one student’s work. #g2great pic.twitter.com/4IgL9qHqjv
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
A3 Never forget the simplicity and yet value of the Three Big Questions. Here is Heidi Weber’s sketchbook notes on the Three Big Questions. #g2great pic.twitter.com/DDBAo8o0zv
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
Q4.@BobProbst@KyleneBeers @ScholasticEd #g2great pic.twitter.com/ekaUkZ4lVY
— Fran McVeigh (she/her) (@franmcveigh) February 19, 2021
A4 If we value evidence and logic, we reject groundless assertions. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
A4 If we value honesty and clarity in language, then we reject lying and evasion. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
A4 I value honesty; so I reject lying. I value encouraging; so I reject demeaning; I value kids willing to try; so I reject teachers punishing via grades. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
A4 If we value the individual and her unique responses, then we reject conformity to one answer, one interpretation, one vision. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
A4 If we all started our weeks with colleagues asking “What do we value and how is that shown?” then we’d know what needs to change. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
A4 If we value reason and evidence, then we reject conforming to the positions of groups, with which we might be affiliated, if logic demands it. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
A4 If a new parent strolled through your school, looking at all the glass cases, the bulletin boards, the books in classrooms, the memos up in the main office, and on and on, what would that parent say the walls say is valued in your school? #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
Q5.@BobProbst@KyleneBeers @ScholasticEd #g2great pic.twitter.com/rpsHXC64Gb
— Fran McVeigh (she/her) (@franmcveigh) February 19, 2021
A5 I didn’t make clear to students the importance of responsible literacy, since literacy enable them to shape themselves and the world around them. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
A5 When I consider the suppression of literacy, I think of all I - as a white student - was not taught. I cringe. But when I think of all that was denied students who are not white, I am ashamed. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
Q6.@BobProbst@KyleneBeers @ScholasticEd #g2great pic.twitter.com/pwKE8nWJR4
— Fran McVeigh (she/her) (@franmcveigh) February 19, 2021
A6 The problems of the world are often the problems of our literature and nonfiction. If we let kids seek relevance, and speculate about possibilities, then they may be attacking the problems that matter to them. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
A6 In #ForgedbyReading, if you haven’t read the chapter on relevance do. Kids are quite clear in what they want to learn and they want that learning to turn into doing. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
A6 What’s the best way to encourage students to do the work of change. Get the hell out of their way. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
Q7.@BobProbst@KyleneBeers @ScholasticEd #g2great pic.twitter.com/AtodTnUPsu
— Fran McVeigh (she/her) (@franmcveigh) February 19, 2021
A7 The big problem is that reshaping oneself may require letting go of treasured beliefs or visions and replacing them with one less comfortable but more defensible. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
A7 The best invitations begin with “Please” and end with “Thank you.” Please tell me more. Thank you for explaining. Please tell me even more. Wow. Thanks for all that. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
A7 How can kids feel invited to be a part of something when we rarely ask for their thoughts? #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
A7 Sometimes I think that reshaping self is a necessary (but occasionally unpleasant) first step in reshaping society. #g2great
— Bob Probst (@BobProbst) February 19, 2021
When Bob and I began #ForgedbyReading, we thought we were writing a book about how to run independent reading programs. The more we wrote, the more we realized the problem is the program. We needed to write about the power of independent reading. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
Independent reading is not about a level; it’s not about a certain number of minutes. Independent reading is that reading we do that helps us develop independent thoughts - not thoughts directed by anyone else. #g2great
— Kylene Beers (@KyleneBeers) February 19, 2021
Thank you, @KyleneBeers & @BobProbst for joining us tonight on #G2Great! Thank you again to @Scholastic for supporting teachers and honoring the work we do each day. @DrMaryHoward @franmcveigh @vrkimmel @mrbgilson @drtharris Good night teachers you are all amazing. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/Uk5N9KXPb6
— Jenn Hayhurst (@hayhurst3) February 19, 2021
Literacy Lenses
