What if English language arts classes were like… HBCU marching band? A practical framework for reimagining the ELA classroom

Purpose A traditional English Language Arts classroom is a community of practice, but it is one that often excludes students – and teachers – who do not belong to the dominant cultures that created those classrooms. As a result, students can miss out on the challenges and pleasures of joining a community in textual exploration. Many educators are imagining alternative ELA communities of practice. In this essay, we aim to offer a framework and a detailed example for doing so. Design/methodology/approach The authors focus on four elements of a community of practice: purposes, principles, practices and people. The authors then draw from Tawheedah’s experience in her HBCU college band – a community of practice dedicated to sustaining Black American culture-and map those elements from HBCU band to ELA classroom. Findings The authors designed a performance-based course built on performance, interdependence, student creativity, culturally sustaining language arts and the principles of “jammin no shammin.” Like HBCU band, the authors’ ELA class focuses on canonical texts and pop favorites, and students lead along with teachers to explore and perform those texts to audiences. Research limitations/implications No community of practice is perfect. Some aspects of communities of practice do not map well onto creative, culturally sustaining, inclusive classrooms. Practical implications Still, the authors hope educators engage in this exercise in imagining alternatives to the traditional classroom. Social implications Such imagining is a step toward redesigning a classroom for all students and teachers, but especially for students who may experience cultural dissonance as they engage in the historically entrenched traditions of English Language Arts. Originality/value This essay offers a practical framework for speculative dreaming.