In Forged by Reading: The Power of a Literate Life, Kylene Beers and Bob Probst reflect on the role of reading in a democratic society. It is a book that helps us all-teachers, administrators, parents, and policy makers-to understand not only what it means to be an independent reader and writer, but also why creating independent readers and writers is critical to the health of our nation and the world. Beers and Probst argue that reading and writing are not literacy. They are the tools of literacy. Literacy is about power and privilege-the power to rethink visions of ourselves and to reshape our visions of what society might be. This is critical because the history of literacy has largely been about the suppression of that power and privilege.
This book is about creating readers who think, who live an empowered life, who live a self-determined life shaped by evidence and reason, vision and imagination.
Forged by Reading, a culmination of Beers and Probst's life's research and teaching, grapples with many of the questions we should each be asking about literacy. It discusses pressing topics such as inclusive libraries, student identity, and anti-racism, and strategies that will help students think deeply about text. But at its heart, it is a call to action, one that reminds us, “To stay silent about wrong acts is to speak loudly. Instead, with love and encouragement, with sincerity and strength, with hope and humility, we must offer a voice that seeks a truer version of who we have been in this nation and sings a song of who it is we might become.” You, too, will want to stand with strength, hope, and humility after reading Forged by Reading, a book that invites each of us to shape ourselves and our world.
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