Abstract
This article explores how counter-narratives of undocumented
students' journeys to and life in the United States can disrupt White, monolingual teachers' understandings of emergent bilinguals (EBs) in their rural classrooms. Online postings and plans of action of two teachers were analyzed through Vygotsky's theorizing on imagination, emotion, and catharsis, and Nussbaum's narrative imagination. Reading the counter-narratives triggered an emotional response, enabling teachers to develop an informed empathy and to re-story interactions with previous EBs and understandings of familiar rural spaces. With expanded understandings of undocumented students' lived experiences, teachers could more responsively address the needs of EBs and their families.