Scripted Curricula and Restricted Identities: The Realities of Teachers and Students in an Audit Culture

Abstract

We examine the impact of the Common Core State Standards and scripted literacy curricula in a New York City public elementary classroom. We argue that these texts perpetuate dominant, middle-class values and situate our critique of them within the broader literature on deficit discourse around Emergent Bilingual students. Utilizing a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework, we investigate the language and images used to construct models of ideal readers, ideal teachers, and ideal citizens. We explore how teachers can reconcile the constraints of the audit culture with their own desire to create a more responsive and diverse curriculum.