Tackling Adultism: Solidarity, Literacies, and Parenting

A commitment to social justice and equity should appear not only in academics’ writing but also in their personal lives. In this Insights essay, I contend with creating coherence between my research and parenting practice through my struggles with unlearning adultism. Specifically, I describe how my middle child, Junior, challenged me to live as I write within my research. As a result, this essay examines how embracing intersectional anti-adultism in my parenting practices required that I expand how I enacted literacies for challenging injustice within schooling. As such, this essay articulates three commitments for engaging in thick solidarity with youth in research and parenting. Moreover, it encourages academics to evaluate adultism in our personal lives.