(Re)Active Praxis: Listening, Collaborating, and Learning in an English Education Program

This essay examines the development of collaboration, listening, and learning in a graduate English education program, as teacher candidates navigate sociopolitical challenges such as book bans and restrictions on teaching divisive concepts. Focusing on community-building and reflective practice in a methods course, this article discusses collaborations with colleagues, doctoral students, teaching artists, and international educators to help candidates explore how we make choices in education, emphasizing listening and collaboration as key to learning how to become a teacher and to center students’ humanity. Theater partnerships offer innovative approaches to Shakespeare while virtual exchanges with Caribbean universities provide a global perspective on text selection and pedagogy; doctoral students bridge academia and public schools, offering practical insights.