My First Disruption Story
It’s early 2025 and the threats to bilingual education have never been so violent in modern US history. From Trump signing EOs to hunt down and deport immigrants to enshrining English as the official language of the country, now is the time to build our skill sets around advocacy and teacher empowerment. NOW is the time to Disrupt the Monolingual Bias.
Pictured: a schoolteacher and Trump voter speaking about immigrants at an exit poll in Pennsylvania, November 2024. The caption reads, “He’s gonna get the criminals out. You come here? Learn how to speak English.”
For the next several months, I’ll be dripping new content lifted directly from my upcoming book Disrupting the Monolingual Bias: A Framework for Teacher Advocacy. Each blog will examine some aspect of sociolinguistics through an advocacy and teacher empowerment lens. You’ll read stories from stalwart Disruptors, and como siempre, I will give you marching orders. If you’d like to be added to my waitlist for my upcoming book, click the button below.
Which brings me to this post where I share my very first Disruption Story. It takes place in 2009 when I was a third year bilingual 2nd grade teacher in the South Bronx. Some Disruption stories are bummers, others redemption. This one is a success story in that my actions led to real policy changes in my school. As you read, I invite you to consider how sociolinguistics (identifying how language ideologies impact your daily decisions) are a theme in the narrative. Also track my advocacy efforts and what methods I used to achieve the Disruption.
My Disruption Story: Inequitable Assessments in a new DL program
It was my first year as a 2nd grade teacher in a new wall-to-wall Dual Language school. I had heard whispers that a new administration was brought in to level up the dual language program, and that my hire was a nod to this revitalized mission.
September was underway, and my assistant principal, Ms. Victoria, gathered my team to tell us when the English reading data was due. I turned to my Spanish-medium colleagues and asked, “What about Spanish reading data? Surely a DL school requires Spanish reading data if it’s serious about full biliteracy outcomes.” Clearly, they hadn’t, so I asked for a private meeting with Ms. Victoria to make my case more…. directly. An entry from my journal during that time states:
I got red-in-the-face, my arms crossed, and I closed my argument with a grandiose appeal: If this school calls itself a dual language school, surely our administrative team would want to collect literacy data in BOTH languages. After I left Victoria’s office, I ran into the bathroom and burst into tears. Did I just seriously jeopardize my reputation just 1 month into getting hired at this school?
And although Ms. Victoria knew that Spanish data was not a requirement of the district office, she considered my nudge and told me she'd speak with leadership and have an answer within a week. Silly me… I didn't realize how long it takes to overturn bureaucratic (monolingual) policies in a school. In the meantime, I began researching free or basic Spanish reading assessments, resourceful and quick-thinking in the hopes that she would return with an affirmative answer.
Silly me… I didn’t realize how long it takes to overturn bureaucratic (monolingual) policies in schools.
True to her word, Ms. Victoria got back to me to assure me I would not be conducting English assessments, and that I may administer the Spanish ones. By the end of the day, she sent a memo to the entire K-2 team, assuring all teachers we would collect running records in English and Spanish, if we were to adhere to the mission and vision of a truly equitable dual language program.
My journal line from that evening: It worked, it (bleeping) worked! 3 cheers for Ms. Victoria! And good on ya, Lil, for doing the right thing, even though it was hard. Even though you jeopardized your reputation in a new school.
key Takeaways
How is this a Disruption Story, and what role does sociolinguistics play? This story is about Language Ideologies (LIs) - beliefs and attitudes about language that shape how humans make sense of the world and others (Silverstein, 1979). The specific LI at play is assimilationist, where the goal in public education is to replace the heritage language with the prestige language of power (Gee, 2014). This was the de facto assessment policy (Menken, 2008): collecting English data at the cost of collecting (and valuing) Spanish literacy trajectories for our emergent bilinguals. The linguistic injustice I sensed was tied to an assimilationist view of language.
This was my “WHAT” (problem). My “SO WHAT” (solution) was to Disrupt the deficit policy by becoming 2 specific kinds of advocates.
I am a rebel rouser- willing to confront authority, backed by a strong conviction that the linguistic injustice was serious and had serious consequences. Rebel rousers are known for being bold and persistent and facing the consequences of their actions. They reckon it’s the price you pay for causing a little friction in pursuit of advocating for your MLLs. I was willing to face retribution. Notice I got red in the face, asked for a private meeting, and continued to remind Ms. Victoria of the stated mission of our bilingual program.
But my rebel rousing was met with a softer, collaborator role. Collaborators are known for being problem solvers, patient and respectful of all stakeholders. They know whether to nudge an actor or express restraint. In the following days, I rolled up my sleeves to solve the problem. I researched free Spanish assessments, was willing to make copies, organize spreadsheets, and volunteer to oversee this work. I collaborated with Ms. Victoria, whose own courageous actions with her supervisors lead to a shift in the assessment policies in our newly formed DLBE program.
Graphic of Dr. Ardell at a protest, with a bullhorn. The text reads, “I guess Ms. Victoria hired me because she wanted a little fire and chutzpah on her team after all.”
Marching Orders
What can you do with this Disruption Story, and what next steps will bring you closer to your own Disruptions to the Monolingual Bias? Here are three things you can do today to advance linguistic justice in your own district and communities:
Learn how to spot linguistic injustices as they creep into the mouths and policies of your context. Download this Guide to Language Ideologies to learn the specific set of deficit attitudes to look for.
Reflect on your own courageous moments of student advocacy and linguistic justice. Use the following two prompts to get you going:
When did I feel like my best self in bilingual/TESOL education?
Have I ever Disrupted the Monolingual Bias in my district?
Share this blog with two types of peers- an equity-ally who ‘gets it’ and then someone who well… doesn’t quite get it. And if you need a little guidance on how to speak to the folks who don’t get it, book a free coaching call here.
