Educator Feature: Sarah Norsworthy, Ed.D., Literacy Specialist

This year the IDEA Collective will share stories of practice that highlight the way educators in Maine are creating inclusive, accessible spaces that welcome the breadth of diversities in our classrooms, as we work towards equity. 

We are starting the year off with stories of practice from our Executive Board. Our first piece is by Dr. Sarah Norsworthy. It begins with an origin story and ends with a practice. 

This story was originally written in 2020, just before the COVID pandemic shuttered schools. The practice continues. 

We had been reading, I Survived Hurricane Katrina, (Tarshis) over the preceding days. I was reading aloud, 4th grade learners were on the rug. They could see the cover as I read, and when illustrations appeared, I shared them with the class. About midway through the book, I showed the class an upclose illustration of our protagonist. 

“What are you noticing, thinking, wondering?” I asked. 

From the edge of the group, a boy I’ll call Brian looked up and his eyes grew wide. His mouth began to open in an expression of surprise. His eyes caught mine. I inclined my head. 

“What are you thinking, Brian?” 

“Ummmm….Nothing.” 

Another student spoke, shared their thinking–and another and then I returned to reading. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brian’s mouth start to open, and then close. His eyes were alight. I inclined my head, and looked quizzically, invitingly, at him. 
“
Tell us? We are so curious about what captured your attention.” 

​“Well, it’s just that…. Is that…. Is he… Is that a Black kid? Is the main character Black?” “Yup.” 

“Like, is Harriet Tubman in this book? Martin Luther King? 

“Nope.”

“Is there slavery?” 

“No.” 

“So, wait–this is a story about a regular Black kid? They make those?” 

I scanned our rich classroom library that held a few stories of other regular Black kids. “They do...” 

“Wow… I thought the only books with Black people in them were about slavery, Harriet Tubman, and Martin Luther King.” 

“Those are stories that you’ve probably seen a lot of in school.” 

‘Yup.” 

“Here, let me show you a few others.” I put, I Survived, down–walked over to the library and pulled a few books about “regular Black kids” out of buckets–most of the texts were non-fiction, but there were others. Jabari Jumps comes to mind, Max Found Two Sticks, Peter’s Chair, Come On, Rain… It was a small stack. I sat back down in the group. 

“There really aren’t many are there? Do you want to know why?” 

When I think about debates on whether conversations on race have a place in K-12 schools, Brian always comes to mind. Here was a Black boy, five years into formal schooling–a brilliant, inquisitive, kind, not-yet-voraciously-reading Black child. 

In the conversation which followed, we spoke about “old writers,” publishing, money, and power. Students then went into the library and noticed how many books about animals existed–how many white authors, male and female–and mostly about how few authors were Black. We talked about why that might be. They asked perceptive questions. I answered what I could, and we dug in more. 

The next day, students started to notice how Black characters showed up in some stories, but that they aren’t often the main characters. They noticed Black characters in white spaces–as I recall, nowhere did they find white characters in Black spaces. 

At the time, I didn’t realize I was teaching about the impact of race and power, or more accurately drawing from my lay knowledge of racial literacy and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy. I was teaching responsively, addressing a child’s emotional response to a text that we were sharing. My teaching changed that day. I never again took for granted that students would find themselves in the texts on our shelves, even if the characters in our books were like them; I ensured that they did. Brian may not have left 4th grade a completely-voracious-reader, but as I intentionally matched him with texts that matched his regular Black boy self, you can be sure that his reading volume, comprehension, and JOY increased. Identity matters. Actively affirming the humanity of our diverse identities matters too. 
~Dr. Sarah Norsworthy

The Practice: 
● Share and display–HIGHLIGHT–every day, day-in-the-life, stories of currently and historically marginalized peoples. 
○ When we center the stories of trauma, oppression, and resilience that real and fictional characters with currently and historically marginalized peoples we deny their full humanity. People are more than their present and generational traumas. Representing people living their everyday lives is an anti-oppressive practice. 
Context: 
● In 2005 the CCBS reviewed 2800 children’s and YA books, 75 (2.7%) were written by Black/African creators, 149 (5.3%) of the books reviewed contained Black/African characters. 
● In 2023 the CCBS reviewed 3491 children’s and YA books, 468 (13.4%) were written by Black/African creators, 524 (15%) of the books reviewed contained Black/African characters. 
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For more information on Books by and/or about Black, Indigenous and People of Color, visit the CCBC website.