Multicultural Book Suggestions

CCHS Diversity Dinner Dialogue

Book Suggestions from the College of Education

The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African-American Children, Gloria Ladson-Billings
Although statistics paint a harsh picture of the education of African American children, Ladson-Billings (curriculum and instruction, Univ. of Wisconsin) integrates scholarly research with stories of eight successful teachers in a predominantly African American school district to illustrate that the "dream" of all teachers and parents-academic success for all children-is alive and can be emulated. The presentation of examples from "intellectually rigorous and challenging classrooms" emphasizes the cultural and social aspects of the issues in education as a whole. The author's own experiences as a student and teacher of teachers support the need to make the problems of African American children a central issue in any debate on the American educational system. The in-depth bibliographical notes and the excellent appendixes discussing the methodology and the context of the study should be useful for education students and the libraries serving them.
A.R. Huggins, Memphis State Univ. Libs.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Letters to the Next President: What We can do about the Real Crisis in Public Education, Carl Glickman (Editor), Epilogue by Paul Wellstone, Prologue by Bill Cosby
Taxpayers, legislators, policy makers and, as the title suggests, even presidential candidates will appreciate this thoughtful collection of letters from a diverse group of parents, students, teachers, public figures and elected officials, education scholars and reformers. The essays offer straightforward suggestions for fixing our schools and are a refreshing antidote to the spin from government and media sources whose messages often "obscure the real crisis in our schools." "We must focus on the difficult questions," says Glickman (Holding Sacred Ground, etc.), a highly regarded education scholar, referring to the achievement gap between those who are well served by education and those who have been historically underserved. And, he says, we must reverse the decline of an educated population if we hope to preserve democracy. But, Glickman maintains, the answer isn't through what he sees as ideologically driven standardized testing regimes, privatization or any of the other methods that he believes threaten the very existence of public education. Glickman and his contributors suggest practical ways to create world-class schools. Although the ideas vary, all require energy and activism from everyday citizens and, most importantly, real leadership. The essays, written by actor Cosby, educational philosopher Maxine Greene, Sen. John Glenn, parents and even a student in the South Bronx, ask "the next president and all of us to fight for the soul of a democracy through public education."

We Can't Teach What We Don't Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools, Gary R. Howard
With lively stories and compelling analysis, Gary Howard takes his readers on a journey of personal and professional transformation. From his 25 years of experience as a multicultural educator, he looks deeply into the mirror of his own racial identity to discover what it means to be a culturally competent White teacher in racially diverse schools. Inspired by his extensive travel and collaboration with students and colleagues from many different cultures, We Can't Teach What We Don't Know offers a healing vision for the future of education.

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race, Beverly Daniel Tatum Anyone who's been to a high school or college has noted how students of the same race seem to stick together. Beverly Daniel Tatum has noticed it too, and she doesn't think it's so bad. As she explains in this provocative, though not-altogether-convincing book, these students are in the process of establishing and affirming their racial identity. As Tatum sees it, blacks must secure a racial identity free of negative stereotypes. The challenge to whites, on which she expounds, is to give up the privilege that their skin color affords and to work actively to combat injustice in society. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities (Multicultural Education Series), Sonia Nieto
Sonia Nieto makes student learning the primary objective of multicultural education. Nieto draws on a host of research in learning styles, multiple intelligences, and cognitive theories to portray the way students learn. She then takes us beyond individual learners to discuss the social context of learning, educational equity, the influence of culture on learning, and critical pedagogy. Centering on multicultural education as a transformative process, the text includes many reflections of teachers who have undergone this process and whose experiences will be invaluable to other teachers.

Race and Culture in the Classroom: Teaching and Learning Through Multicultural Education, Mary Dilg
Drawing on actual dynamics in an urban high school, Dilg, a white English teacher, describes and analyzes the significant challenges and joys at the heart of multicultural education with adolescents. Unafraid to address sensitive issues, the author shows how educators can treat questions of race and culture in the courses they teach. She offers a framework for thinking about the processes, the dilemmas, and the benefits of multicultural education while also pointing out that a multicultural approach to education is infinitely more complex than commonly acknowledged.

Confronting Racism, Poverty, and Power: Classroom Strategies for Changing the World, Catherine Compton-Lilly
These are among the many myths about poor and diverse families. Catherine Compton-Lilly refutes them with the best data available.

A hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind
Ron Suskind won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1995 for his stories on Cedric Jennings, a talented black teenager struggling to succeed in one of the worst public high schools in Washington, D.C. Suskind has expanded those features into a full-length nonfiction narrative, following Jennings beyond his high-school graduation to Brown University, and in the tradition of Leon Dash's Rosa Lee and Alex Kotlowitz's There Are No Children Here, delivers a compelling story on the struggles of inner-city life in modern America. While it appears to have a happy ending (with Jennings earning a B average in his sophomore year), A Hope in the Unseen is not without a few caveats (at times, Jennings feels profoundly alienated from his white peers). Trite as it may sound to say, this book teaches a lesson about the virtue of perseverance, and it's definitely worth reading. --John J. Miller--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.