Customer Reviews

Black Students. Middle Class Teachers.

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jawanza Kunjufu is a prolific author and lecturer who has made his mark on the educational reform movement by concentrating on factors that influence African American achievement. This installment focuses on a regularly occurring relationship in urban schools-that of middle class teachers and black students. Kunjufu leads this book off with a list of trends that impact African American achievement. These range from disparities in spending per pupil between affluent and non-affluent districts to the number of African Americans in penal institutions. He includes a revealing multi-cultural quiz, an examination of middle class schools and their practices concerning Black students, a detailed analysis of white female teachers and a relevantblack curriculum to consider. I felt imprortant pressure on myself as an educational leader to internalize this piece so that I can be more effective in my urban school district as I work with children of color. Any educator struggling with our achievement gap between those who have and those who have not should definitly read this and other books by this author.(such as Keeping Black Boys Out Of Special Education.)

I highly recommend this book by Jawanza Kunjufu. I've taught in the urban setting and this book unlocks a lot of behind the scenes info that I was not aware of. As always, he shares lots of research for continued study.

if I hadn't started reading this book later in the evening, I would have read it cover to cover in one sitting, but I stopped in the middle to sleep! I read this book prior to entering a teaching credential program, and am really glad that I did, because it has given me a framework to evaluate my teacher education as I go through it to make sure I learn the skills I need to teach in my neck of the woods.

I feel really empowered by it. He gives lots of references to other books and organizations. I feel really excited and inspired!

I was totally captivated by Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu's book. It's a fascinating read that offers numerous valuable and practical suggestions for improving the academic achievement of America's Black students. Dr. Kunjufu, a prolific writer, thinker and educational consultant, writes with considerable simplicity and authority.

every teacher and parent concerned about black children should read this excellent book.

I bought this book because I am a white teacher in a lower-income multicultural school, and I truly value education. Unfortunately, I found one major problem with this book. It states many facts, summarizes other people's work, and tells many anecdotes, but does not seem to offer any well-articulated or helpful new ideas. The only positive aspect of the book is its reference to many other, much more interesting and insightful publications, notably Gloria Ladson-Billings' "Dreamkeepers" and Gary Howards' "We Can't Teach What We Don't Know".

As a high school teacher and university instructor in the education field, I have had a variety of experiences to help inform my teaching and my work in helping others become more effective educators. Possessing a desire to instill multicultural and multiracial appreciation within the teachers I work with, I thought Kunjufu's book would bring forth ideas to better prepare teachers to work with non-white students. I was apprehensive at first after reading the back cover and skimming the first chapter. After two chapters I had learned nothing and was very disappointed by the lack of evidence provided for the mountain of claims the author makes. The best part of the book is the references page and having been published in 2002, the little data Kunjufu does provide is out-dated and has been done better by other authors.

I was totally captivated by Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu's book. It's a fascinating read that offers numerous valuable and practical suggestions for improving the academic achievement of America's Black students. Dr. Kunjufu, a prolific writer, thinker and educational consultant, writes with considerable simplicity and authority.

A highly critical piece of work highlighting the many unspoken issues within education which crosses geographical bounderies effortlessly!!

This book addresses issues which apply to young people and parents regardless of cultural or ethinic origin.

Eye opening and truly honest.

Great read. Very informative. This will be very useful for my staff in the coming school year.