Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is yet another book in what seems to be a sub-genre of literature about the shortcomings of public education in the United States when it comes to educating children of color because public educators don't take the time to understand and cater to the community they are attempting to teach. The author's solution is that we actually reclassify children of color as "neoindigenous" for the purposes of educating them. He also goes to great lengths to defend the complexity of different aspects of urban youth (Read as "African American".) culture, and opines that this urban youth culture needs to be embraced and understood by white urban educators if they are to successfully educate urban black children. I think this book is pretty silly, and here are some reasons why: First, while I am a white educator, most of my peers at my school are African American. I have found that we have share the same expectations for our students of color, and experience the same successes, frustrations, and failures for approximately the same reasons. When I suggested to a few of my African American colleagues that we all classify our black students as "neoindigenous", some laughed, and some were simply incredulous. Second, the real driver of every so-called "achievement gap" in American public education is not race, but poverty. Students from poverty frequently suffer from a number of things that middle-class parents and kids don't even think about, such as poor pre- and neo-natal care, infanthood neglect, exposure to lead paint, chronic malnourishment, instability of living situations, and repeated exposure to violence. This puts a typical, poverty-stricken child literally years behind by the time he or she enters kindergarten. It also results in such a high concentration of the stress hormone cortisol that such a child is unable - not unwilling, but unable - to control his or her behavior. He or she has a hyper-developed "fight or flight" response that is completely inappropriate to a classroom. That is not the child's fault, but is not the teacher's - white or otherwise - fault either. Third, the vast majority of students of color and poverty do come to school to learn and to behave. They are effectively held prisoner by a minority - say 20-25% based on my experience - that comes to school to amuse themselves, usually at someone else's expense. These are the kids who on a daily basis keep the other 75-80% from learning. They used to get sent to the dean, and sometimes were suspended from school. Now, under the national Restorative Justice Approach to Student Discipline, they stay in class unless they do something truly egregious. I have heard a number of long-term African American educators express the opinion that Restorative Justice will actually get young black people killed because they will talk to policemen the same way they now talk to teachers and administrators without consequence. I'm afraid they are correct. Students from my school have been shot and killed before during my time there. Fourth, the purpose of public education is to move students into a society that runs according to certain social norms. Students learn productive and good habits in school because as adults they will be expected to show up on time, be prepared, follow rules and policies, and do their jobs to the best of their abilities. No one will cater to them because of their background, and no one will classify them as "neoindigenous". If they don't follow the rules and do their jobs, they will be fired. Professor Emdin's approach will, in my view, lead to an awful lot of unemployable young men and women of color. This also applies to college - try addressing your professor as the "N" word and see how long you last. For that matter, I bet if you're a black student of Professor Emdin's and repeatedly show up late to class, interrupt his lectures by throwing Red Hot Cheetos across the room, play videos of fights on your phone, and greet him by saying "Whassup, my 'N' word", you'll probably be removed, neoindigenous or not. Last, some common practices within the urban African American community do not constitute a "culture". They are merely counterproductive habits. They include widespread abandonment of pregnant young women by the young men who impregnate them (Codified by the terms "baby mama" and "baby daddy".), and refusal to identify people who do bad things (The "no-snitch" culture.). The first results in entire generations of young people who have to try to raise themselves, without really knowing what it means to be a "man" or a "woman". The second allows the worst people in a given place to effectively run the show. So, in conclusion, I give this book one star because it cherry picks data to posit an argument that is in my opinion both counterproductive and absurd. Whether the author likes it or not, our society will not reconfigure itself to cater to a small segment within it that behaves in counterproductive ways. Nor should it. For a much better book dealing much more constructively and realistically with the issues addressed by this book, I highly recommend Geneva Gay's "Culturally Responsive Teaching". I also think Professor Emdin would be well served by reading "Out of America" by Keith Richburg. The author of "For White Folks . . . ." also ignores massive amounts of data having to do with public education that, if paid attention to, might actually result in change for the better. The real driver of any and all achievement gaps is poverty. That is what we must address as a start. Finally, and I mean this with sincerity, not snark. I invite Professor Emdin to take a year-long sabbatical in order to practice what he preaches. I would have the utmost respect for him if he took his undeniable passion to South Los Angeles and taught any CORE subject to his target audience at the seventh-grade level. If he does so, I will look him up, shake his hand, wish him well, and invite him to write another book about his experience.