Reviews

"In these pages, Linda Christensen--consummate teachers and brilliant writer--shows us that, in the end, teaching well is about awakening and transformation. Through lively vignettes and stirring writing by both teacher and students, this book exudes hope and possibility." -- Sonia Nieto "professor emerita, University of Massachusetts, Amherst"
"This compelling narrative of teaching and learning comes alive right in front of you. I saw my own students, my own classrooms--different names, different cities, but the same challenges, burdens, and promises tapped and untapped. Each chapter is steeped in instructional practices born out of authentic experiences in real classrooms." -- Vanessa G. Brown "director, Philadelphia Writing Project"
"Linda Christensen gets it. She understands writing is a medium through which human beings convey their passions, hopes and dreams. Christensen provides practical advice to teachers with an understanding that when our students learn to write they experience a sense of joy and fulfillment." -- Pedro A. Noguera "Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, New York University"
"Teaching for Joy and Justice gives teachers the inspiration and "how to" nitty-gritty we crave. We find names of texts that compel, high school student writing that calls out to teenage reality, techniques for teaching how to write poems, narratives, essays. And everything presented sits resolutely under the social justice umbrella." -- Faye Peitzman "Director, UCLA Writing Project"
"Linda Christensen ... shows us how her students come to celebrate their own writing, value themselves, and stand up for others. Writing is embedded in curriculum that matters, in discussion about big ideas, and in literature rich with the full range of human experience. It's a language arts teacher must-read!" -- Allen Webb "Professor of English Education, Western Michigan University"