Juan, Melina, and Friends: Guides for Reconceptualizing Readiness

Abstract

We in the United States have strange ways of talking about learning and education, and especially “Readiness.” Several decades ago, the term “at-risk” was adopted to designate a group of learners who were, for various reasons, predicted (or set up) to fail in their learning and school success. Of course, there were various reasons for this initiation of the use of the term. Some reasons were lack of information (both factual, and about complexities such as the cause and effects of societal stratifications), some were a belief in the notion that all people are not equal in ability, and some others were racist.