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Language and Literacy
Pose, Wobble, Flow: A Culturally Proactive Approach to Literacy Instruction
This book proposes a pedagogical model called “Pose, Wobble, Flow” to encapsulate the challenge of teaching and the process of growing as an educator who questions existing inequities in schooling and society and frames teaching around a commitment to changing them. The authors provide six different culturally proactive teaching stances or “poses” that secondary ELA teachers can use to meet the needs of all students, whether they are historically marginalized or privileged. They describe how teachers can expect to “wobble” as they adapt instruction to the needs of their students, while also incorporating new insights about their own cultural positionality and preconceptions about teaching. Teachers are encouraged to recognize this flexibility as a positive process or “flow” that can be used to address challenges and adopt ambitious teaching strategies like those depicted in this book. Each chapter highlights a particular pose, describes how to work through common wobbles, incorporates teacher voices, and provides questions for further discussion. Pose, Wobble, Flow presents a promising framework for disrupting the pervasive myth that there is one set of surefire, culturally neutral “best” practices.
Book
A structure for career-long growth for ELA teachers, including ways to adapt pedagogy from one year to the next. A focus on culturally proactive positions within ELA classrooms to ensure criticality in how we teach and how we advocate for the teaching profession. Six different poses that are standards-aligned, critical, and expand the possibilities of what takes place in school. Guidelines for creating original poses beyond the scope of the book, discussion questions for courses, and resources for classroom teachers.“In Pose, Wobble, Flow, Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen remind all of us that teaching is not about following it’s about listening to our students and paying attention to the social forces that shape their lives; about learning how to navigate department, school, district, and federal rules to benefit our students so we can keep a job while we continue to honor our core beliefs about education.”—Linda Christensen, Director, Oregon Writing Project, Lewis & Clark College
“Antero Garcia and Cindy O’Donnell-Allen have written a book about teaching that I’ve been hoping someone would write. They deftly provide a clear and insightful framework from which any thoughtful teacher can build a vital practice, while also inserting a wealth of examples to ground the framework in working classrooms. It’s a must-have for preservice and inservice teachers who care about their teaching.”—Bob Fecho, Professor and Department Head, University of Georgia
Book
A structure for career-long growth for ELA teachers, including ways to adapt pedagogy from one year to the next. A focus on culturally proactive positions within ELA classrooms to ensure criticality in how we teach and how we advocate for the teaching profession. Six different poses that are standards-aligned, critical, and expand the possibilities of what takes place in school. Guidelines for creating original poses beyond the scope of the book, discussion questions for courses, and resources for classroom teachers.“In Pose, Wobble, Flow, Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen remind all of us that teaching is not about following it’s about listening to our students and paying attention to the social forces that shape their lives; about learning how to navigate department, school, district, and federal rules to benefit our students so we can keep a job while we continue to honor our core beliefs about education.”—Linda Christensen, Director, Oregon Writing Project, Lewis & Clark College
“Antero Garcia and Cindy O’Donnell-Allen have written a book about teaching that I’ve been hoping someone would write. They deftly provide a clear and insightful framework from which any thoughtful teacher can build a vital practice, while also inserting a wealth of examples to ground the framework in working classrooms. It’s a must-have for preservice and inservice teachers who care about their teaching.”—Bob Fecho, Professor and Department Head, University of Georgia
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 11, 2015
22 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Antero García
39 books9 followersAntero Garcia is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University where he studies how technology and gaming shape both youth and adult learning, literacy practices, and civic identities.
He is the author of Good Reception: Teens, Teachers, and Mobile Media in a Los Angeles High School (MIT Press).
He is the author of Good Reception: Teens, Teachers, and Mobile Media in a Los Angeles High School (MIT Press).
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 10, 2016
I was asked to review this book. The main professional hat I wear is English educator, which means I prepare undergraduate and graduate students to teach grades 6-12 English, primarily in the Chicago area.
Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen are writing in what is now familiar territory in education, how to work with a culturally diverse population of students. Most teachers that work in urban areas, working with a vast majority of people of color, are white women. They are given by the state the Common Core Standards, which assumes all students need the same thing everywhere. No acknowledgment of diversity. Few or possibly no teachers in a multicultural society agree with that position, but having said that, young (and in my school, often suburban white and well-meaning and committed) teachers do come in with assumptions about teaching that have to be discussed. They need to work with students and talk about those experiences to learn and grow as beginning teachers.
There's research that would seem to indicate that white teachers sometimes expect less of their black students:
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/...
http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/08/1...
There's a host of books and movies about this. There's some great movies, such as Half Nelson, about a complicated drug-addicted but still very good and human History teacher, and some movies that make out white female teachers to be heroes in "ghetto" schools, such Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers.
There's also a funny parody or two hat helps to make a useful point about unhelpful cultural assumptions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVF-n...
Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen know the literature of "culturally relevant" pedagogy and lay out, in primarily theoretical terms, various ways one can be what they call "culturally proactive" in teaching literacy. They pose six different stances or "poses" teachers can use in working with their students, which are really just general approaches to teaching: 1) being vulnerable with students (being a learner with students about their cultures and communities); 2) literacy as social action (connecting community and the classroom); 3) writing with students; 4) "curating" the reading curriculum by choosing relevant texts; 5) designing classroom spaces for democracy, and 6) teaching for praxis. Many of them as you can imagine bleed into each other; they are very similar, really. The basic point is to listen to students and community and not just going in their to try and "save" kids from their lives. Their contribution is that there are myriad ways to teach well, but you can't just go into the classroom with little or no training (as in Teach for America) and expect success.
They talk about how you adopt a "pose" (or theoretical approach), and acknowledge you have to "wobble" in an approach before you "flow," an idea they in part borrow rom Csikszentmihalyi.
The strength of the book is the range of ideas for how to think of cultural relevance; the weakness is that it is almost exclusively theoretical. Most of this stuff is by now very familiar to experienced urban teachers (and it's not just for urban teachers, it's any multicultural classroom), but I thin it may be useful to have this for new teachers. It's missing sufficient models to help new teachers do what they say, but I still liked it. New teachers that read it won't be as naive as the teacher in that parody video.
Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen are writing in what is now familiar territory in education, how to work with a culturally diverse population of students. Most teachers that work in urban areas, working with a vast majority of people of color, are white women. They are given by the state the Common Core Standards, which assumes all students need the same thing everywhere. No acknowledgment of diversity. Few or possibly no teachers in a multicultural society agree with that position, but having said that, young (and in my school, often suburban white and well-meaning and committed) teachers do come in with assumptions about teaching that have to be discussed. They need to work with students and talk about those experiences to learn and grow as beginning teachers.
There's research that would seem to indicate that white teachers sometimes expect less of their black students:
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/...
http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/08/1...
There's a host of books and movies about this. There's some great movies, such as Half Nelson, about a complicated drug-addicted but still very good and human History teacher, and some movies that make out white female teachers to be heroes in "ghetto" schools, such Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers.
There's also a funny parody or two hat helps to make a useful point about unhelpful cultural assumptions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVF-n...
Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen know the literature of "culturally relevant" pedagogy and lay out, in primarily theoretical terms, various ways one can be what they call "culturally proactive" in teaching literacy. They pose six different stances or "poses" teachers can use in working with their students, which are really just general approaches to teaching: 1) being vulnerable with students (being a learner with students about their cultures and communities); 2) literacy as social action (connecting community and the classroom); 3) writing with students; 4) "curating" the reading curriculum by choosing relevant texts; 5) designing classroom spaces for democracy, and 6) teaching for praxis. Many of them as you can imagine bleed into each other; they are very similar, really. The basic point is to listen to students and community and not just going in their to try and "save" kids from their lives. Their contribution is that there are myriad ways to teach well, but you can't just go into the classroom with little or no training (as in Teach for America) and expect success.
They talk about how you adopt a "pose" (or theoretical approach), and acknowledge you have to "wobble" in an approach before you "flow," an idea they in part borrow rom Csikszentmihalyi.
The strength of the book is the range of ideas for how to think of cultural relevance; the weakness is that it is almost exclusively theoretical. Most of this stuff is by now very familiar to experienced urban teachers (and it's not just for urban teachers, it's any multicultural classroom), but I thin it may be useful to have this for new teachers. It's missing sufficient models to help new teachers do what they say, but I still liked it. New teachers that read it won't be as naive as the teacher in that parody video.
August 29, 2018
I am so happy that I read this book right before the start of the fall semester as I get ready to teach an undergraduate course and supervise some student teachers. I loved how this book frames poses that teachers committed to educational and social equity can take up in all areas of their teaching lives— from instruction to the spaces they teach in to their own writing practices, as examples. I feel motivated by this text and am planning to print the Appendix overview of the poses to keep by my desk for consistent reference.
September 19, 2018
PWF posits a framework to follow for preservice/early career teachers to develop their own pedagogical practices for English Language Arts instruction. The authors outline six ‘poses’ to take on – culturally proactive teacher, teacher as hacker, literacy for civic engagement, teacher as writer, teacher as curator, and teacher as designer. In each of the poses, the authors remind the reader that they will experience ‘wobble,’ which may present as uncertainty or vulnerability. In this wobble, teachers are asked to reflect on their practice and their positionality to eventually reach a state of ‘flow,’ or state of confidence/effectiveness in their approach. The book asserts that all teaching is political, so teachers should embrace their position to question social inequities and to teach for positive social change.
April 5, 2023
"These poses are intended to revitalize and transform the world of public education; our individual incremental growth as culturally proactive educators will in aggregate lead towards profession-wide shifts, but only if we demand this change in ourselves and from our peers and colleagues."
Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen's text seemed to be targeted towards teachers working with marginalized students, but I believe the "poses" proposed (Culturally Proactive Teaching, Teacher as Hacker, Literacy as Civic Action, Teacher as Writer, Teacher as Curator, and Teacher as Designer) are just as important for affluent, white students in private schools. Facilitating discussions about privilege and making whiteness visible are key to exposing inequitable systems and dismantling systemic racism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen deconstruct the notion of "best practices," arguing that this outdated notion fails to account for how teachers' practices are constantly adapting to their students' needs and novel, multimodal forms of literacy. I found this to be an interesting perspective, one that echoes the idea of critiquing the absolutism and universality of the alleged "literary canon."
Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen's text seemed to be targeted towards teachers working with marginalized students, but I believe the "poses" proposed (Culturally Proactive Teaching, Teacher as Hacker, Literacy as Civic Action, Teacher as Writer, Teacher as Curator, and Teacher as Designer) are just as important for affluent, white students in private schools. Facilitating discussions about privilege and making whiteness visible are key to exposing inequitable systems and dismantling systemic racism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen deconstruct the notion of "best practices," arguing that this outdated notion fails to account for how teachers' practices are constantly adapting to their students' needs and novel, multimodal forms of literacy. I found this to be an interesting perspective, one that echoes the idea of critiquing the absolutism and universality of the alleged "literary canon."
June 13, 2017
Garcia and O’Donnell-Allen pack lots of theoretical and practical wisdom into this slim volume aimed at preservice teachers, in-service teachers, and teacher educators. Using a framework borrowed from yoga, they posit that effective teaching evolves when practitioners adopt conscious poses (or attitudes/dispositions) toward teaching, experience wobble as they adapt and modify their methods as a result of reflection, and achieve flow as they re-adjust their poses in light of formative feedback. As they explain, this is a recursive and constant process.
Working from a social justice orientation, the authors use examples from their own practice to demonstrate five specific teaching poses—teacher as hacker, teacher as facilitator of civic engagement, teacher as writer, teacher as curator, and teacher as designer—as they challenge us to examine our own practice and identify ways we can induce wobble to improve our effectiveness.
Accessible enough for new teachers, engaging enough for veteran teachers, and practical enough to make a real difference—this is a text I intend to share widely with colleagues and students.
Working from a social justice orientation, the authors use examples from their own practice to demonstrate five specific teaching poses—teacher as hacker, teacher as facilitator of civic engagement, teacher as writer, teacher as curator, and teacher as designer—as they challenge us to examine our own practice and identify ways we can induce wobble to improve our effectiveness.
Accessible enough for new teachers, engaging enough for veteran teachers, and practical enough to make a real difference—this is a text I intend to share widely with colleagues and students.
July 30, 2017
The recurring message in the book that I most appreciate is this: teachers need to do what's best for their students. Yes, we need to be mindful of teaching standards, school district mandates, and school-site emphases, but our gut instincts should guide our work with kids. The authors provide examples from their teaching situations and also spotlight the work of colleagues who have found ways to "hack" the systems in which they have chosen to teach. There is emphasis on authentic assessment and teaching for social change, although I would not force my students into any one corner of curriculum; the book has encouraged me to orient my instruction this year around student passions -- any of which could guide students toward social action of some type. The book is an effective booster shot for teachers at the beginning of a school year.
March 21, 2017
Very useful resource for teachers.
September 21, 2017
This was more theory than practice, but a good reminder of things I know to be true.
August 12, 2020
Every teacher should read this.
December 12, 2024
Ok wasn't technically a cover to cover read but I think I got everything out of it I could. Learned a lot!
Read
February 6, 2021I’m sure this would’ve been much more helpful in my undergrad or first few years of teaching. After more than a decade of trying to become a better writer so I can be a better writing teacher, I didn’t get much out of it. The whole “pose, wobble, and flow” seems contrived so someone can act like they’ve reinvented the wheel and sell books. So much of it was just common sense and trial and error—especially if teachers already see themselves as writers.
Again, I’m sure this would’ve been much more helpful when I was just starting. Now, it was painful to get through, and I skipped or quickly skimmed parts.
Overall, teachers need to remember the advice they give their students: If you want to get better at something, practice and practice and practice. Learn from your mistakes.
Oh, and this book claims to teach teachers how to be “culturally relevant,” but what they suggest is barely a ripple of disruption. They still make sure to talk about standards alignment, blah, blah, blah. Standards are inherently inequitable. To be truly culturally relevant would involve educators reimagining education so what we do is actually relevant—and isn’t just a more palatable form of oppression. For example, having my students write an essay exploring social justice issues would technically be “culturally relevant.” But it’s still an essay. I probably still had students conform to “Standard American English” and MLA formatting (so we could meet standards). I’ve let me students do some research and critical thinking, but then asked them to conform to oppressive methods of communication. So what have I really done?
I guess my main problem is this book doesn’t push educators very far. It might be a little uncomfortable to “pose” and “wobble,” and might lead to some personal change in educators. But we’re still “posing.” Posing is simply taking on a temporary action to impress an audience...not challenging and changing systems. Wobbling is such a tiny action. We need to topple our biases and oppressive systems.
Okay, I’m done unloading. I’m just tired of education/curriculum/pedagogy books addressing the surface so a career field dominated by white people can feel like they’re doing something, even though it’s not much.
Again, I’m sure this would’ve been much more helpful when I was just starting. Now, it was painful to get through, and I skipped or quickly skimmed parts.
Overall, teachers need to remember the advice they give their students: If you want to get better at something, practice and practice and practice. Learn from your mistakes.
Oh, and this book claims to teach teachers how to be “culturally relevant,” but what they suggest is barely a ripple of disruption. They still make sure to talk about standards alignment, blah, blah, blah. Standards are inherently inequitable. To be truly culturally relevant would involve educators reimagining education so what we do is actually relevant—and isn’t just a more palatable form of oppression. For example, having my students write an essay exploring social justice issues would technically be “culturally relevant.” But it’s still an essay. I probably still had students conform to “Standard American English” and MLA formatting (so we could meet standards). I’ve let me students do some research and critical thinking, but then asked them to conform to oppressive methods of communication. So what have I really done?
I guess my main problem is this book doesn’t push educators very far. It might be a little uncomfortable to “pose” and “wobble,” and might lead to some personal change in educators. But we’re still “posing.” Posing is simply taking on a temporary action to impress an audience...not challenging and changing systems. Wobbling is such a tiny action. We need to topple our biases and oppressive systems.
Okay, I’m done unloading. I’m just tired of education/curriculum/pedagogy books addressing the surface so a career field dominated by white people can feel like they’re doing something, even though it’s not much.
August 10, 2022
I'm struggling with how to read this book. On an information level, I wholeheartedly agree with everything the authors wrote. Their approaches to teaching are very similar to my own. However, I didn't necessarily see this as a cohesive book. I could see the pose-wobble-flow framework as being useful as an article, but the rest of the book didn't feel like it fit. The authors do ask a ton of great questions, but I would almost rather explore those in a training with the authors instead of in a book. I feel like the content better lends itself to active learning and exploration rather than reporting after the fact. Also, it still felt fairly theoretical though they explicitly stated their aim as marrying theory and practice.
Even after finishing the book, I still wanted to know things like:
- What poses are common?
- What widely accepted poses are actually problematic?
- What poses do you hope to adopt but feel insurmountable?
- What does it actually look like to wobble?
- Can we hear testimony from teachers who have wobbled?
- How long does the wobble last?
- What does it look like?
- How do you work through the wobble and get to flow?
I imagine this could be a useful short volume for new ELA teachers, but I didn't really learn anything new other than the framework introduced in the first chapter which I'll carry forward with me in my teaching career.
Even after finishing the book, I still wanted to know things like:
- What poses are common?
- What widely accepted poses are actually problematic?
- What poses do you hope to adopt but feel insurmountable?
- What does it actually look like to wobble?
- Can we hear testimony from teachers who have wobbled?
- How long does the wobble last?
- What does it look like?
- How do you work through the wobble and get to flow?
I imagine this could be a useful short volume for new ELA teachers, but I didn't really learn anything new other than the framework introduced in the first chapter which I'll carry forward with me in my teaching career.
June 29, 2016
Inspirational and thought-provoking in parts, but it leave out the "how to." Also, it's more geared toward high school teachers than middle school teachers (as is often the case - much to my annoyance).
July 18, 2016
I'm reading this for the NWP CRW program. This was a good summer read to put me in the mindset of preparing for a new year of learners, moving into a new classroom space, trying on new instructional strategies, and hoping to really work on identifying myself as Teacher as Writer.
September 25, 2019
Attention Teachers: GET THIS BOOK!!
July 24, 2016
Absolutely loved and was changed by this book.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews