The Bread Loaf Teacher Network Journal, published annually, is edited by Tom McKenna, BLTN Director of Communications, assisted by Kurt Ostrow (MA ’22). Beverly Moss, BLTN Director, provides the guiding vision for the network and its digital initiatives. Contact Beverly Moss or Tom McKenna for more information or to submit content for upcoming issues.

Teaching and Writing in the Anti-Woke Moment: Stories that Sustain Us

With this issue, created under the 2023-2024 theme of “Teaching and Writing in the Anti-Woke Moment: Stories that Sustain Us,” I’m proud to present stories of resistance, of collaboration, of peace making, and of conflict transformation. 

This is the first issue with assistant editor Kurt Ostrow (MA ’22). It’s been a real pleasure to collaborate with Kurt, an accomplished writer and publisher, a veteran BLTN collaborator, and a visionary teacher. Kurt’s piece, “Interrogating Resistance in the Classroom,” asks, “How can we foster thoughtful dialogue about freedom-seeking tactics? On charged subjects such as Israel-Palestine, the climate crisis, and white supremacy, how can we invite all our students to think critically as philosophers and strategists?”

Jennifer Summers poses similar questions in her piece about a collaborative unit on prison reform, as does Danika Robison, who traveled with her students to Panama for oral history work. The narratives in the BLTN Journal offer a model of how to resist the pressures in schools that narrow curriculum and limit teacher innovation. Nora Britton, Kate Cusick, and Rebecca Rose write that their process in orchestrating a place-based project “became a highlight of our year.” And Brian Hotchkiss, representing his collaboration with Genithia Hogges on a year-long book club, writes, “Every first Monday of the month, we convened…to bring teachers closer: to one another and to the pedagogical principles and social justice virtues we aspired to in The Barn.”

Beverly Moss’ piece looks ahead to the coming year’s theme, “Making School Relevant: Teachers, Students, and Communities in Meaningful Collaboration.” This theme came about with input from the 2024-25 fellows, synthesized by Fallon Abel, BLTN’s new Associate Director. Like Kurt, Fallon brings a practicing teacher’s eyes and heart to the work. She encourages us to consider questions that are sure to spur more resistance to the narrowing of curricula. “Often as teachers,” Abel reflects, “We hear students question, ‘Why do we have to learn this?’ Growing up in a world of wars, climate catastrophes, racial injustice, pandemics, and AI, our students raise legitimate questions as to the relevance of what we teach. What aspects of teaching/education still seem to hold value or meaning for today’s youth?”

The youth we represent in our teacher network always remind us what deserves our attention. As the Youth Advisory Board for our Next Generation Youth Leadership Network brainstormed a writing event to share their passion for expressive writing (they ritually write together as part of their monthly network meetings), several advisors spoke to the need for a peace theme, given the human suffering in the Israel-Gaza conflict. That led to an event headlined by Naomi Shihab Nye. “Writing,” she emphasized, “helps us keep asking the questions, ‘How could we make things better? What could we do better?’” I encourage readers to tune in to what these NextGen youth are doing to make things better. They are “woke” in the best ways.

Enjoy the issue and please feel free to comment.

-Tom McKenna, Editor
May 24, 2024