“Invisibility is not a natural state for anyone”: (Re)constructing narratives of Japanese American incarceration in elementary classrooms

Abstract

Difficult histories that may contradict national values are rarely taught in elementary schools. This comparative study of two elementary educators examines their pedagogical approaches to the teaching of Japanese American incarceration as difficult history. Framed by Asian American critical race theory, the teachers' practices revealed challenges in teaching Japanese American incarceration as an example of a difficult history. The author interrogates the role of counternarratives and empathy in teaching difficult histories, particularly with young children, and offers suggestions for pedagogies of discomfort that reveal difficult histories while fostering critical hope.

KEYWORDS:

• Student and teacher experiences
• critical theory
• educational practices
• Japanese American incarceration
• difficult history
• Asian critical race theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Noreen Naseem Rodríguez is an assistant professor of elementary social studies in the School of Education at Iowa State University. Her research interests include Asian American education, the teaching of difficult histories, and critical uses of diverse children’s literature. Rodríguez received the 2019 Early Career Award from the Children’s Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English and her scholarship has been published in Theory & Research in Social Education, the International Journal of Multicultural Education, School Library Journal, and Journal of Children’s Literature. She is the author of the forthcoming To Build a Better World: Anti-Oppressive Social Studies for Young Learners with Dr. Katy Swalwell.