Customer Reviews

I Choose To Stay: A Black Teacher Refuses to Desert the Inner City

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

 

 

Salome Thomas-EL's I Choose to Stay: A Black Teacher Refuses to Desert the Inner-City is a testament of selfless dedication and commitment to Philadelphia's inner-city community. He opens by recapping his childhood and ever-present internal drive to succeed despite the obstacles in his path. Born into a large family with little money and an absentee father, Mr. Thomas-EL excelled academically and stayed out of trouble as a youth. His record of accomplishment earned him respect from instructors who encouraged him to live up to his potential despite peer pressure to do otherwise. He credits his mother and teachers as having the greatest influence on his life and has made it his mission to reciprocate all the many blessings he has received.

He shares that early in his life he felt he was destined to teach and cites a few early adult experiences that seemed to confirm the inevitable. His innovative academic programs, strong rapport with students, and love of teaching led him to become an effective and influential educator and role model. Mr. Thomas-EL meticulously chronicles the resurgence and accomplishments of the Vaux Chess Team and the strategies that he used to encourage and develop the students' skills for the game and life's hard lessons. As stated in the foreword written by Arnold Schwarzenegger, there is no doubt that Salome Thomas-EL is to be commended for his tireless efforts and devotion to the children of Vaux Middle School. Written in the same vein of Joe Clark's Lean On Me, Thomas-EL's I Choose To Stay is proof that inner-city public schools can succeed and produce great students.

Although Thomas-EL's story is truly inspirational, it is the construct of the book or memoir that distracts from the story. There are some passages and concepts that are repeated and the story's flow stalled in a few areas. However, if the reader is looking for a positive, feel good, encouraging story, then this novel delivers.

Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, The Nubian Circle Book Club

As a teacher, administrator and now college professor, I have always shied away from the game of chess because I felt that it was too complicated. But being a former math major with the ability to see algebraic patterns this book inspired me to take up the game.
The students from Vaux Middle School were extremely impressive and an inspiration to every educator. As a college professor, who teaches graduate students in education, I often speak of high expectations for all students. I will constantly refer to this book and the students of Vaux as the role model. When you have high expectations for all students and teach them to have the same, they will meet and exceed the standards of high academic excellence. Too often, teachers have low expectations for minority, inner city, and impoverished children. They equate poverty with the lack of the ability to do high level rigorous work.
I will utilize the lessons and stories from Mr. Thomas-EL to continue to motivate teachers in helping all students achieve. Each time the students from Vaux Middle School were challenged to use their brains they were able to extend to the next level. Teachers need to help all students rise to that challenge.
I felt so proud of the students, and I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. Thomas-El on publishing this book and on his true dedication to the students of Philadelphia.

When I heard that this book was being published, I literally counted the days until I had my hands on it. After having read the book, my feelings were so strong that I chose not to write about it until I have had a few months to get over them. I must say that I was very disappointed. I have the highest respect for Mr. El and everyone else in his profession. I have a very similar background to Mr. El - grew up in North Philly, attended public high school, went on to pursue advanced degrees at an Ivy league university, and am deeply involved in public education in Philadelphia. Therefore, with all due respect, I found it very had to swallow some of the things that I read in the book about his experiences. I saw the embelleshments of a ghost writer all over this book. The theme became redundant after some time. The first half of the book was spent telling the reader how smart Mr. El was. The second half was about how the kids could do it if someone beileves in them etc, etc, blah, blah. I've seen all this in movies.
I also feel that the book lacked depth. What about the effect of the political scene on public education? How about explaining why the PSSA scores in your schools are always so low? I want to know why a school that has such a dedicated public servant always scores in the bottom percentile year in and year out? What are your thoughts, Mr. El, on what kind of changes we have to make to the system to make public education work in Philadelphia? I understand that Mr. El can't get involved in these issues because he still has a career to think about but I was hoping to see someone step forward and expose the political hypocrisy that continues to keep our kids down. In closing, again I want to reiterate how much I respect this profession and understand what kind of dedication and personal sacrifices have to be made in order to make changes in the lives of children so thank you for that, Mr. El.

Mr. Thomas-El is rare in the city of Philadelphia. Or any inner-city in America. First, he is a young black male teacher. Second, he actually cares and believes in his inner-city children. Where everyone else has written us off, Mr. Thomas-El "chooses to stay." He is truely amazing. I am a testament to what Thomas-El has done at Vaux Middle School.

I was a player on one of Mr. Thomas-El's nationally known chess teams between 1989 and 1992. I am now a third year law student at Temple University School of Law. See, Vaux students have been fighting against the odds our entire lives. Mr. Thomas-El gave us the tools to apply the strategies of chess to the game of life. His belief in his children is no small deal. His belief in us allowed us to believe in ourselves. I am extremely happy that Mr. Thomas-El has stuck it out in the public schools. Most commodities such as himself would have left a long time ago.

Someone finally realized how special our students are at Vaux Middle School; it's about time

I Choose to Stay is a fantastically written book desribing a journey of a inner city teacher. Salome Thomas-El, is an inspiration to people in every industry. He challenges us to take a look at what is going in the inner city schools, not just in Philadelphia, but in our hometown cties as well.

It is a book about one man's loyalty, devotion, and courage to make life better for the children of inner city Philadelphia. A book that can teach us all a little bit about what we can accomplish. A Great Read!

Salome Thomas-El's book, I CHOOSE TO STAY is both a memoir and inspirational tale of his unrelenting dedication to inner city schools. Born one of eight kids, he began his life in the projects of Philadelphia. Even as a child, he showed dedication to his community and a thirst for knowledge. Most of his fondest memories are of teachers who supported, encouraged, and helped to mold him into the man he is today.

After high school, Thomas-El attended East Stroudsburg University, a predominantly white institution where he had to fight hard against prejudices and racism. Upon graduation, he pursued a career in broadcasting, but soon he was called on to teach. After teaching in several suburban schools, Thomas-El realized that he could give back more to his community by teaching in inner city schools. Once he had the opportunity, he began transforming the students and the schools by establishing a chess club, Saturday schools, and several tutorial programs. Students have gone on to attend colleges and win national chess championships under his guidance. Although he has been offered several lucrative contracts from suburban schools, he declines to take them, knowing that helping these children is much more rewarding than anything that money can buy.

I CHOOSE TO STAY is a must read for anyone in the education system. It shows how one man's vision, dedication, and perseverance helped transform a school system, and encourage students who were otherwise lost. Salome Thomas-El exemplifies what it means to be a teacher and many can learn from hearing his story.

Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

How can you not desire to have a teacher or principal who not only does their job, but does their job so well that they go above and beyond borders and walls? Great communication, liability risk, understanding, desire to live a life and be involved in such a way as to change so many lives for the better! On top of that, finding an understanding wife, wow!!

He is a great inspiration for showing that education is the key to truly "get out of the inner-city when so many others have not." Despite many odds, he found a way to increase the curriculum, yet keep students involved and wanting more.

Many times, he mentions that he constantly encourages the students telling them that they are smart and that they could do it or anything for that matter.

One thing I'd like to do at a school, he did on (p. 132). With a highly rated chess player, Salome and that player played in the lunch room and had at least 11 other sets set up. They played without saying anything. Students laughed and commented, then others started playing and bragging that they could beat Mr. Thomas-El.

(p.135) He put up posters which said "DO YOU WANT TO PLAY CHESS? DO YOU WANT TO BE ON TV, RADIO, AND IN NEWSPAPERS? DO YOU WANT YOUR GRADES TO IMPROVE?""

(P.141) "You need to learn to put yourselves on the chessboard." shows another example of how Thomas-El truly lived this experience. I'm surprised Thomas-El isn't a chess master himself!! (p. 257) At one of the schools Thomas-El was at, he took a big risk at set up a dinner where there were math games for parents and students to try for fun. Everyone got a prize just for participating. He got himself and other teachers to roleplay how to react to mom and dad to get them to come to this particular parent night. Or, the time he mentions about how he had breakfast provided for the children, and how it made a big difference for the students because of their home environment. So, even if students came late, they'd still get the food. Wow!!

(p.158) His determination to continually motivate the students and fundraise like "hell"- the persistance and emotion is unbelievable and heart-wrenching, but turns out all his hard work pays off. Thomas-El explains how chess helps develop thinking such as "If I'm know I'm doing something wrong or getting ready to do something wrong, I stop and think about it." (p. 183)

His respect, care for the students and each other, is shown by having a rule that no one eats dinner until everyone has finished playing! Masterman, can't be a true chess Philadelphian without mentioning the name of this school.

Thomas-El speaks of how some of his students going from acting out to shaking hands with another player like gentlemen [and gentlewomen]- model sportsmanship. (p.223)


When reading this book, I find out some ironies between me and him. We both lived in Wynnefield, in the same section. We both have been involved with ASAP and chess in general, and are in the education field. I feel I was meant to read this book and the second one too (which I had actually read first.)

This book was well written with good details and imagery. This book let me know that my passion for working with inner city youth is shared among others

As with most inspirational titles, this is a fast read. Mr. Thomas-El's account is especially worth reading for an inner-city teacher such as me. Both the downs of teaching in a challenging environment (violence and death, pernicious attitudes undermining success) and the ups of an energetic and talented teacher's influence are presented.
Readers will be unhappy with views presented by Mr. Thomas-EL if they bring a basic misunderstanding of the book's purpose and premise. Although co-written, Mr. Thomas-El's personal experience is foremost. Yes, the man is smart, but he admits failures and mistakes and seems to have no delusions about the likelihood of more of them in his future.
If a reader is concerned with depth, standardized test scores and the overall political scene in education, attempting to focus on them in this context would totally miss the point of the book. As a teacher in a school system with a significant percentage of families who are dealing with the issues Mr. El finds himself facing every day, I can completely understand how one person could have a profound impact on the lives of a small (but not insignificant) number of individuals within his sphere without that sphere being large enough in and of itself to result in increased institutional test scores. The title says it all: "I Choose to Stay". Mr. El is there because of what he is able to do with the relatively few students he spends time with day in and day out, not because he feels he is personally charged with the task of bringing about a sea-change of attitudes in American inner-city culture or the U.S. political environment on education. As to why Mr. El's school "always scores in the bottom percentile" of its standardized tests, I believe the answer lies in the frequency, intensity and duration of the problems the majority of his students are facing. If every teacher in Mr. El's school influenced five students in his or her classroom in a way similar to Mr. El's work with his chess students, I think the school's test scores would rise. I believe almost any teacher could have that much effect on a small number of students, but very few have the drive to spend the quantity of personal time required above and beyond the requirements of a daily routine with 20-30 students.
Perhaps changes could be made to the educational system that would make a difference, but I feel that this is where the educational community has been misled in the past. The most important issue highlighted by Mr. Thomas-EL's experience is not the educational system, but the overall cultural, spiritual and economic inheritance with which so many families are coping. Changing the entire culture, converting unbelievers and raising everyone out of poverty are goals that reach beyond the educational system (and the scope of this book), but according to the author, the best place to start seems to be with the circle of people with whom you connect every day.

I choose to stay is an intensely moving story of courage and compassion. It is a tender, touching, sometimes achingly painful, testament to the power of determination and courage. This book tells a telling story of a dedicated educator who is determined to overcome any obstacle in order to stengthen and challenge our kids.