What is Touchstone Texts

In this chapter, the authors describe their positions as social justice educators and provide concrete examples for engaging educators in reflection, discussion, and praxis in a required course for preservice teachers in literacy. They describe concrete steps they have taken to incorporate and model a culturally rich pedagogical practice. They both believe that a course that requires reading, writing, and thinking provides a rich backdrop for engaging with preservice teachers about cultural and linguistic diversity and for moving into spaces of working towards equity and justice in society by engaging in action. Given that they each require students to apply what they are learning in the creation of learning centers and final projects, the authors believe their models of practice and praxis along with conversations about the necessity of a social justice stance will manifest in quality work as students design reading and writing assignments of their own.