Brian Charest Ph.D.
About Dr. Charest
I'm a former high school teacher. I've taught in both Chicago and Seattle public schools, where I've worked with diverse student populations. Most of my classes as a high school teacher and a university professor have included working in community-based settings. In large part, this is because I believe school and community building are reciprocal, not separate, projects. I also believe that schools work best when they are run democratically and are places where all students feel safe and supported as they pursue the questions that matter most to them. Education for me, is about love, respect, and liberation. What does it mean to be an educated person in a democratic society? This is a fundamental question for all of us to consider. What would schools look like if the goal was to liberate us and push us to reach our fullest potential? Can we imagine schools as spaces that support and encourage creativity, kindness, collaboration, and freedom?
Education
- Ph.D., English Education, University of Illinois at Chicago
- M.A., Special Education, Roosevelt University
- M.A., English, San Francisco State University
- B.A., English, University of California, Santa Cruz
Professional Background
- Community and civic engagement
- Democratic education
- Participatory democracy
- Experiential education
- Education philosophy
- The school-to-prison pipeline
- Community organizing
- Community revitalization
- National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
- National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME)
- American Studies Association (ASA)
Publications
Charest, B. (In Press). Disorganizing Schools: How to Revive Our Democracy, Revitalize Our Communities, and Reorganize Our Schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
Charest, B. & Sjostrom, K. (Eds.). 2019. Unsettling education: Finding ethical footing in a time of reform. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Charest, B. (2019). Navigating the shores: Troubling notions of teacher as researcher. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy.
Lalas, J., Charest, B., Strikwerda, H., & Ordaz, M. (2019). Nurturing hope, belonging, and engagement through Equity. In Forlin, C. & Scorgie, K. (Eds.) Promoting social inclusion: Co-creating environments that foster equity and belonging. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.
Charest, B. (2018, March 23). In defense of civic engagement in schools. [Ethical ELA]. Retrieved from www.ethicalela.com/briancharest/;
Charest, B. C. (2017). The way it’s going: Neoliberal reforms and the colonization of the American school. In D. Loveless, P. Sullivan, K. Dredger, & J. Burns (Eds.), Deconstructing the education-industrial complex in the digital age (Ch. 1, pp. 1-23). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Awards and Service
- Teaching the Inside-Out course in the San Bernardino Juvenile has been a professional high point for me. Working with young people who want to change the way we think about schooling, discipline, and justice reminds me why we need to provide young people with opportunities to participate in making decisions about their lives and their communities. Here's a link to the story they did in Och Tamale: https://www.redlands.edu/bulldog-blog/2018/july-2018/school-of-education-professor-students-explore-education-inequality-in-new-course/
- Developing and participating in the Cuba Study Away course, Education, Revolution, and Social Justice, was also a high point for me.
- The two books that I've worked on in the last three years have been the research highlights for me.
- Global Impact Faculty Award; Faculty Research Grant, 2020/2021
- Chancellor’s Service Award, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2013
- Teacher of the Year (presented by the South Side Chamber of Commerce), 2007
- Service Learning Coach of the Year (presented by the Chicago Public Schools Office of High School Programs), 2007