Literacy Matters - Vol 21 - Winter 2021

library. At one point, for a few seconds, they were behaving the way little children might behave. They were making silly gestures and sounds. One teacher glared at the boys as her face began to turn red with rage. Her eyes looked as if she was staring at two beasts rather than two children. Her lips curled up, but she said no words. The teacher next to her responded by gently rubbing one of the boys on his shoulder and told him to pay attention to the author, and both kids immediately obeyed. One teacher responded to the off-task behavior in the act of love through patience. All teachers should emulate this act of patience through the communication of care. Children perceive teachers as caring through their actions (Warren, 2013); this includes body language - their eyes, hands, and facial expressions. Children understand adults’ nonverbal expressions well before a single word is spoken (i.e., a warm smile, subtle gaze, cheerful “air” five). Conveying genuine care contributes to Black boys’ social, emotional, and academic learning (Harper andWood, 2016). These caring expressions explain the reason many children learn how to read from their first teacher, a nurturing parent (Rowe, 1994). to show them they are loved. Sophia once advised Daneell during the time she served as an elementary teacher in a rural community. I, Daneell, desired to show my students I loved them beyond communicating words of affirmations. Sophia recommended I engage in a practical application of love - paint with them. After obtaining approval from administrators, the students and I re-painted the gloomy tan colored walls in the classroom to a bright yellow. As the children were learning literacy concepts, they co-created a warm, nurturing environment that communicated to them they belonged; they were loved. The warm nurturing environment also allowed the students to co-create a literacy-rich environment. They showed a greater interest in the word wall that was on the wall they painted bright yellow. A word wall is a bulletin board, whiteboard, or other devices on a wall with a collection of words for learners to use and interact with to build vocabulary knowledge (Cunningham & Allington, 2015). The students would often use the word wall to engage in academic discourse and often referred to it in their writing. When students join with a caring teacher to create a literacy learning community, they are more likely to take ownership and actively engage in literacy learning (Powell & Rightmyer, 2011; Sanacore, 2004). Other examples of co-creating a warm, nurturing literacy environment include the students in developing the space arrangement. For example, the teacher prepares three classroom layouts and allows the students to select one. Once they have selected their preference, the students can actively engage in rearranging the space. On the other end of the spectrum, the students could design the classroom layout and implement their own classroom design. Constructing a classroom layout involves the six arts of language: visual representing, viewing, speaking, listening, reading, and writing (Tompkins, 2018). Students engage in lively conversations in selecting a classroom According to Maslow (1970), the third hierarchy of needs is belonging/love. Teachers can co-create space with their students

layout. They are required to listen to their peers throughout this process actively. Students can use pencil, paper, or digital devices to visually represent the classroom objects and the classroom space. They are required to properly label their diagrams and read them to others and themselves. To compare the selected design layout with the physical layout, they must critically view both the visual representation to the physical installation. The availability of choice increases the students’ opportunities to exercise agency, student engagement (Parker, Novak, & Bartell, 2017), motivation, and high academic performance (Kohn, 1993) throughout the learning process. Additionally, love is being quick to see the good in every child rather than allowing stereotypes to distort our view. The media has helped create the stereotype of Black males as being deviant, ignorant, and troubled (Howard, Flennaugh, & Terry 2012; Ladson-Billings, 2011). These stereotypes create a mindset of suspicion, distrust, and fear. Teachers must proactively counter the distorted representations by viewing all Black boys as presumed good who have the same needs as all children. In far too many cases, elementary-aged children are being referred to or arrested by the police. For example, a six-year-old Black boy was arrested and handcuffed by school police in Orlando, Florida. Initially, the authorities incorrectly reported the child was eight- years-old. Why would any elementary-aged child be arrested? Nationwide, Black boys are three times more likely to be arrested at school than their White male peers (Blad & Harwin, 2017). What if all school personnel, particularly teachers, show brotherly love consistently to Black boys. That is a love that removes all boundaries and barriers and sees every Black boy as one of us rather than one of them. It is a love that expects good from those we cherish the most and expects good in each human being regardless of their skin tone, creed, or background. This kind of love requires a conviction that only becomes visible in daily acts of seeing every child as a dear little brother rather than “the Other.” Thus, when a child of any race says something offensive, teachers should correct the misbehavior without condemning the child or holding the child in contempt. Instead, teachers must meet Black boys’ needs by continually practicing love. Listen Listening is one of the arts of language (Tompkins, 2018) teachers must master to teach all children, particularly Black boys. In various education classes, including literacy classes, Daneell introduces students to a Caldecott award-winning picture book, Officer Buckle and Gloria (Rathmann, 1995). It is a lovely story about a friendly, jovial police officer and his lively, amusing dog, Gloria. At the end of the read aloud, prospective teachers are encouraged to think about the students who would hear that story in their future class and how some students might react, especially those who have had a negative experience with the police. They are presented with two scenarios. One child or group of children might say I know what the police did to my dad, uncles, brothers, and so on. I never met friendly police like Officer Buckle. How the teacher responds to this statement would determine if the child would be silenced. Suppose the teacher responds those

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