For Thais Council, literacy is not simply about reading and writing; it is about power, freedom and human dignity. “My career chose me,” she said, reflecting on her path into education. Growing up in the South, Council witnessed both the barriers and the possibilities that education can hold. “My grandfather was robbed of his opportunity to learn to read and write,” she explained. “I saw how this impacted his power, his freedom and his overall existence in the world.”
In that same household, however, Council also saw love, intellect and resilience. Her grandmother, who was the valedictorian of her high school class, created a home filled with books and learning. “Each book taught us something. That was the tradition I grew up in,” Council said. “We help each other toward the goal of collective intellectualism.” Family tradition became the foundation of her life’s work as a reading teacher, literacy advocate and, now, assistant professor at Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).
Council said she was most drawn to join the CEHD because of the shared sense of purpose. “The institution’s value systems, core values and mission aligned with mine,” she said. “I’m a critical, interdisciplinary, community-engaged researcher. That is my identity as a scholar.”
For Council, Temple’s mission goes beyond words. She describes Temple’s place in North Philadelphia as a powerful partnership that grounds her work. “Temple wouldn’t be Temple without North Philly, and North Philly houses Temple,” she reflected. “It’s a reciprocal exchange that few institutions offer...I’m looking forward to being part of the collective that enacts our mission with and alongside the community.”
Council’s teaching and scholarship are deeply influenced by “Black intellectual tradition,” a legacy that treats education as a communal act of liberation. “I come from a community where education is the priority,” she said. “That tradition deeply influences my teaching and research.”
“Land, housing and education, and the ability to read and write are the most quintessential American trademarks, yet they’re often usurped from people of certain backgrounds,” she said. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of race, place and power, particularly how housing and literacy intersect in the lives of students, families and teachers.
While her research grapples with difficult realities, she also highlights the strength within communities. “I focus on how people who are on the other side of displacement and dispossession are resilient and brilliant,” she said.
“The exciting part of my work is getting to collaborate directly with people, helping them tell their own stories rather than having others narrate for them.” Council describes this approach as “democratizing education.”
“We’re helping each other figure out how to live more humanely, collectively and freely in this political climate,” she explained. “Research, to me, is about documenting what’s undocumented and humanizing what’s been dehumanized.”
Looking ahead, Council is expanding her work through what she’s coining as “compassion literacy.” She envisions this as a model that blends healing, transformation and human connection. “I’m looking forward to building and enacting a framework that helps heal and transform our neighborhoods and schools,” she said. “I’m interested in compassion literacy being a bridge to our humanity, our freedom and our rights.”
As she reflects on her journey, Council’s advice to future educators is to stay connected. “People in education are born healers—we want to heal wounds in our communities and schools,” she said. “We can be defeated if we’re not connected to like-minded people. So even when it’s hard, stay connected.”