Our Mission Statement
*written for teachers, administrators, students, potential team members, and current team members
At Voces® Digital, our mission is in our name: to make
voices more accessible and comprehensible for learners, for teachers, for people around the world—for all of us. The most lasting impact we can make is one in which more people are heard and understood. Therefore, at Voces Digital, we strive to dismantle systems of oppression by having open minds, approaching problems with curiosity and kindness, and being brave in our approach towards the world.
What We Do
We learn. We do. We fail. We learn from our failures. We do more. Along the way, we listen to and respect the opinions of a diverse mix of people.
To begin, we listen to teachers and students when developing the tools and technology available in Voces. For over a decade, Voces has been growing and evolving based on the way teachers use it in their classrooms. Every tool we have built started with teachers wanting to improve the experience for their students.
We also take steps to bring lesser-heard voices to the forefront. By doing this, we offer students more accurate and insightful experiences of the cultures they’re studying.
We embrace an eclectic mix of people to create, review, inform, inspire, and teach us, including teachers, recent grads, students, retirees, polyglots, journalists, authors, artists, musicians, proofreaders, and unique individuals from the countries we’re showcasing in the Voces curriculum.
These voices—the ones representative of the places and cultures we’re learning about—are the most important. We may hear from an LGBTQIA teenager in France, an indigenous teacher in Guatemala, an Algerian refugee in Italy, or a Muslim journalist in Germany. While we all hold biases and differences, and no one person embodies all aspects of a culture or perspective, we absolutely understand the detrimental effects of the white, heteronormative perspective overshadowing other perspectives, especially other perspectives that have key insights to give on the languages and cultures we’re learning about.
What We Don’t Do
We don’t assume. We don’t stop listening and learning. We don’t put others down.
We don’t expect people to look a certain way—in dress, in style, in size, or in age. No one should be ashamed of—or shamed by—their physical appearance, and in fact, we should respect and celebrate the differences between us.
We don’t only hire those with advanced degrees. While we respect the hard work and learning involved in obtaining such degrees, we also acknowledge that the traditional higher education system predominantly favors wealthy, white Americans. Even though we’re a textbook company, we understand that learning doesn’t always come from a textbook and that education isn’t always delivered by an institution. We value what one has learned and how that feeds into their
tomorrow—not
where they learned and how that feeds into their
resume.
We don’t make every change teachers request. Every teacher’s situation is different, so while our team listens to every need and suggestion presented to us, we ultimately decide which to develop and implement based on broader considerations.
What This Means
What we do and don’t do arises from what we value. Here are some of the things we value and attempt to showcase throughout the Voces content:
- Learning
- Love
- Collaboration
- Curiosity
- Resiliency
- Respect
At the end of the day, a textbook should inspire, not just teach. And just as we are inspired by the teachers and students we work with daily, we hope that the voices showcased in Voces Digital inspire you.
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