As I listened to Alan Luke speak, what really resonated with me was the notion that critical literacy is really about social justice. It is about teaching our students to be “constructive sceptics”; to challenge authority and the status quo, to be informed decision-makers, to articulate or reject ideas, and to constantly be engaged in inquiry and discovery. In essence, we want to empower our students and instil in them a desire to be life-long learners. I believe this is the only way we are going to engage or re-engage our students in our classrooms because too many of them, unfortunately, see learning as a means to an end; an end that is often dictated by a teacher or a textbook/resource; someone or something they see as the ultimate authority and therefore, cannot and should not be challenged. Students will not challenge unless they are taught to challenge and unless they are in a learning environment where it is acceptable and encouraged to do so. As teachers, we need to create those places for our students and more importantly, we need to model this and teach by example. In order for this to happen, however, we also need to feel empowered. As Frank Smith states in his article, Overselling Literacy, “Of course, there is no way that students will be empowered until teachers themselves are empowered, and this will not happen until teachers are autonomous in their classrooms.” I completely agree with Frank Smith. In my work with teachers, I often hear their frustrations about a system that is constantly deciding what is best for them and their students without ever consulting them in the process. They want to be part of the decision-making and they want to be more autonomous. What I’m frustrated about, however, are the many contradictions to this argument that I encounter on a daily basis. Many teachers (often the same teachers who are lamenting about feeling powerless) are asking for prescribed programs and resources to teach literacy. Sometimes teachers are the authors of their own misfortunes. We can’t have it both ways. I think it comes down to this: we either choose to create opportunities for our students to engage in authentic and relevant reading and writing tasks or we rely on prescribed texts or programs to teach reading and writing skills. I believe the latter has its place in our classrooms, but if that is all we are doing then learning will never cease to be anything other than a means to an end for our students. If we want to empower students then we must empower ourselves and trust in our own abilities to do what is best for them. We must lead by example. “When students of any age see teachers striving to understand and control the situation in their own classrooms, through reading, writing, reflection, discussion, and action, then the power of literacy will indeed be revealed and developed.” (Frank Smith, Overselling Literacy)