What is Subtractive Bilingualism

This chapter will explore how teachers work for social justice by advocating for emergent bilinguals. Four sites in which advocacy can be enacted—the classroom, the school, family and community, and larger sociopolitical structures—are used as a framework for organizing the research. Each section begins with a real scenario experienced by a teacher of emergent bilinguals. These scenarios serve to illustrate the need to promote social justice and equity in that site. Each section will then outline practices, beliefs, and frameworks highlighted in recent research. In the classroom, effective curricular and instructional decisions will be explored. Ideas for collaborative structures in the school are described. Effective methods of outreach to families and community partners are discussed, and activism in society and political organizations is explained as a necessary step to improve the long-term outcomes of emergent bilinguals in school and society.