Kirk Wilkins
Teacher in Ames, Iowa
An aspiring educator and researcher in the field of literacy and ESL education, I am primarily interested in issues of social justice and equity in education. In particular, sociolinguistics, bilingual education, classroom discourse, multicultural education and critical theory all contribute to and inform my educational philosophy and research interests. When synthesized, all of these various strands motivate and inspire an intense and passionate advocacy for a transformative and empowering educational experience for minorities, especially those for whom English is not a first language and whose heritage languages and cultures may face stigmatization and marginalization in assimilationist contexts.