Critical Literacy

Deeper Learning

Learners at WIHS also learn to critically examine language and texts to become more discerning citizens in a global and social media world. This literacy approach (reading, writing, and dialogue) helps students learn about what holds historical significance and why. By looking at whose perspectives are being uplifted.

Whose agenda is valued, and whose voices are left out, students develop an understanding of how issues of power affect their own lives, the land, and the broader community.

Through these learning processes, students develop critical consciousness and agency to solve problems and create change beyond the walls of the classroom.

“Critical literacy is not a teaching method but a way of thinking in a way that challenges texts and life as we know it. Critical literacy focuses on issues of power and promotes reflection, transformation, and action. It encourages readers to be active participants in the reading process: to question, to dispute, and to examine power relations (Freire, 1970).” - MAUREEN McLAUGHLIN