Rewriting Identities: Creating Spaces for Students and Teachers to Challenge the Norms of What It Means to Be a Reader in School

Abstract

Abstract In this commentary, I discuss what reading identities are, and how they are defined, created, and enacted in schools by teachers and students. I then consider the positive and negative consequences associated with asking students to take up institutionalized norms around reading. Finally, I share how we can create spaces for students to talk back and rewrite the identities that are often forced on them by schools. I conclude by discussing the importance of creating reading partnerships between teachers and students.