Understanding Literacy and Policy from a Classroom Teacher's Perspective

Abstract

Abstract We are so proud to be incoming co‐editors of the literacy policy column for JAAL. We desire to open a forum that illuminates how policy functions in contemporary settings, especially in relation to literacy teaching and learning. Our experiences as teachers, teacher educators, and literacy scholars has taught us that knowledge about policy is powerful. Such knowledge can make one feel less like a victim of politicians and policy‐makers and inspire advocacy. It can also help teachers work around and even resist uninformed and poorly‐designed policies. During our tenure, we will strive present our observations in an interesting way‐‐because one problem with learning about policy is that the writing about it is too often unnecessarily technical, legalistic, and down‐right dull. This first column looks carefully at the shower of policies that rains down on a teacher, making a seemingly mundane request from peers a veritable deluge of policy decisions.