An Opportunity in Educational Engagement

Abstract

This capstone focuses on both civic engagement and educational justice and has multiple components. One component includes an analysis of the Read Act legislation designed to guide reading instruction in Minnesota schools, enacted by the Minnesota State Legislature in 2023. I assert the Read Act places too much emphasis on evidence-based research and largely ignores student experience, motivation, and cultural diversity. Another component of the capstone includes me becoming a subject of the research by participating as a volunteer at a local school. In this role, I explore my positionality as a white man as well as the dominant role whiteness plays in educational spaces. I facilitated a cross-age tutoring experience in which students in grades four and five taught reading lessons to students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. I explore both academic and civic engagement aspects of these interactions and recognize potential benefits that cross-age tutoring has for both tutors and tutees.