The sociolinguist and language educator as agent of change

In this essay, I argue that our work as educators transcends published articles, books and conferences, and that the classroom is one of the sites where the seeds of change in attitudes can be planted. The role of educators in students’ lives and the importance of creating an environment in which students can develop their critical thinking is well documented (Charity 2008; Bucholtz et al. 2018). This work is particularly relevant and imperative in the language and linguistics classrooms. Language and linguistic classes have been thought of and conceptualized to be apolitical spaces where language is taught in a cultural setting devoid of any legislative or civic connection. It is extremely important to recognize the value of an inclusive education, one that respects and empowers all the diverse voices, languages, cultures and races, yet our current educational system believes in a one-size-fits-all curriculum with “English-only policy policies; narrow, decontextualized language and literacy programs in poor communities of color ... [and] explicit ban[s] on studying the histories, literatures, and struggles of particular ethnic groups” (Paris 2012), with the clear intention of pushing a monolingual white, middle-class model. This whitening of the curriculum is not beneficial to students of color. On the contrary, the curriculum and materials do not have at their center the cultural and linguistic needs of students of color; they are diluted. The culture that is so essential in the classroom curriculum is instead otherized and exoticized, evidence that the classroom is a battleground for power and politics. Language educators and linguists have the responsibility to develop students’ critical thinking in such a way that disparities in language use and accessibility are obvious. The educator needs to be an engaging figure that captures the students’ attention and encourages active student participation, an activist who questions and discusses the legislative and civic consequences of decisions made at the micro and