Reading the World Together
Reading the World Together
Literacy as a Pathway to Restorative and Antiracist Classrooms
by: Crystena Parker-Shandal, Kaitlin Bunghardt, Grant Creech, Teresa Mayer
date: September 18, 2025
In elementary and middle-school classrooms across Canada, conversations about justice, identity, and equity are deepening students’ learning. As educators committed to fostering inclusive spaces, the authors believe literacy education can be a powerful foundation for restorative and antiracist teaching. This article offers a window into our collaborative journey as classroom teachers, educators, and researchers who strive to centre justice, relationships, and student voice in literacy instruction. Drawing on principles of restorative justice in education (RJE) and antiracist pedagogy, we show how reading and writing can help students better understand themselves, each other, and the world they are shaping.