Dr. Rebecca (Becky) Blauwkamp Witte is interested in the intersection of elementary literary practices and racial literacies. Her professional writing often addresses how teachers can illuminate for students the way works of literature express a stance centered on racial justice. When appropriate, her research and writing is often infused with elements of Christianity, looking for possibilities to deepen and widen understandings of community within educational spaces.

Her 18 years as an elementary and middle school teacher in Florida and Michigan gave her experience teaching all subjects, and she became especially drawn to connections between literacy and social studies. She enjoyed using creativity in her instruction, even writing songs about photosynthesis and the parts of speech, and building community in her classroom, practices she continues with her college-level classes.Rebecca is particularly interested in how traditional literacy practices such as letter-writing and journaling can be put to good use in 21st-century classrooms. Her doctoral dissertation explored how one third grade teacher used the literacy practice of letter writing, having students write to her incarcerated uncle, to widen conceptions of Christian community. In this way, students grappled with issues of race and justice, providing possibilities for what is possible in Christian education.

Areas of Expertise

Rebecca writes and teaches in the area of elementary education, specifically in social studies and literacy pedagogy and practices.

Education

• Ph.D., curriculum, instruction and teacher education, Michigan State University, 2024
• M.Ed., teaching, learning and leadership, Western Michigan University, 2005
• B.A., elementary education, Calvin University, 1999

Honors, Grants and Awards

• “Letters to Uncle Billy: Creating Transformational Literacy Spaces through Letter Writing to an Individual Living in Incarceration,” Michigan State University research fellowship, 2022
• “Dis(play)ing the Work of Children’s Language Learning through Poetry and Language Play,” Michigan State University research fellowship, 2019

Selected Publications

• “White Christian Nationalism, Biblical Proof Texting, and Literacy Curriculum and Instruction,” with M.M. Juzwik et al., Reading Research Quarterly, 2024
• “The Pool as Sacred Space,” Reformed Journal blog, 2024
•  “Dialogic Space as Liminal Space for Love: How One Elementary Teacher Opened Doors for Widening Community and Perspective through Letter Writing,” with M.M. Juzwik, Theory into Practice, 2024
• “Back to the Future: Looking at Nostalgic Practices to Conceptualize a More Inclusive Literacy Future,” with D. Rice, Michigan Reading Journal, 2023
• “Justifying Juneteenth: A Critical Pairing of Two Children’s Texts,” with A. Lawson, Michigan Reading Journal, 2023

Outside the College

You can often find Rebecca sitting on the front porch talking to friends and neighbors. In the fall, she might be cheering (very loudly) at her three teenage/preteen sons’ cross country meets. Otherwise, she might be in the kitchen cooking one of her favorite soups (please send recipes her way!). Beyond that, Rebecca loves playing games, running, hiking and exploring new places with her husband and their boys. She is active in her church community and serves on its racial justice team.