Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers

Abstract

In the post-hurricane María Caribbean, Puerto Rico presents a unique case for teacher educators and policymakers. The article offers a critical reflection about the experience of the colonial non-autonomous U.S.-imposed school system, and contributes to teacher education and language education policymaking (LEP) by exploring the effect of displacements, schooling on identity, and the role teachers can play. The article is based on an analysis that broadened the notion of language and education policy to include standards, textbooks, and teaching practices. The research question is about indigenous identity in a context of not only colonial schooling but conflicting visions of history, and loss of oral tradition in lieu of standardized school-sanctioned knowledge. The article suggests that community and indigenous models and educational autonomy would be more sustainable, practical, and just than standardized notions of school.