Mentoring Young Men of Color: Meeting the Needs of African American and Latino Students [Paperback]

Horace R. Hall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 22, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1578864305 | ISBN-13: 978-1578864300

Mentoring Young Men of Color: Meeting the Needs of African American and Latino Students examines the subject of youth mentoring through a cultural lens. The work not only investigates the value of school-based mentoring in the lives of these youngsters, but also offers alternative and constructive ways in which our society can experience and embrace this social group. Positioning mentoring as a cultural practice, this book informs schools and communities of their ethical role and responsibility in fighting the public assault on America's youth by helping young males of color develop a deeper sense of self-awareness and the power they possess.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Hall (DePaul School of Education) takes an in-depth look at the role of school-based mentoring in changing the academic and social fates of minority male youth. The author uses this compact volume particularly to remind America that there is a cultural practice that can sustain minority males' value in society: mentoring. He also indicates that educators, parents, and community leaders can play a definitive role in helping these young men to become valuable members of their respective communities. In order for mentoring to work, educators must be committed to activities such as allowing minority males to express themselves with freedom, and to viewing minority males through their "Learners Everyday Negotiation Strategy." Moreover, they must develop mentoring experiences that help both teachers and students see that they can be both effective learners and leaders. Hall concludes that these relationships provide minority males with the academic and social support needed to realize their potential and dreams. Now it is up to educators and communities to commit further resources to mentoring minority youth. Recommended. (Choice )

Horace Hall is an engaged young teacher/scholar who writes with clarity and authority about his journey toward redemption for both himself and for the young men of color whose lives he touches. This book is a personal odyssey, a practical guide to a positive approach to teaching young men of color, and a plea to America to wake up. Hall reminds us that we are one another’s business; we are each other’s bond and hope. The water is rising, but there is still time to reach out our hands, and, he argues, we must. (William C. Ayers )

Horace Hall is that all-too-rare academic writer: someone who not only can talk the talk, but has walked the walk as well. His personal experiences as a mentor to African American and Latino young men illuminate this wise and important book, which combines a damning critique of society’s vilification of males of color with a thoughtful, practical re-imagining of traditional notions of youth mentoring. (Gregory Michie )

Those who are looking for practical and insightful strategies for mentoring young men of color will find this book an invaluable and powerful resource. (Pedro Noguera )

Horace Hall brings to light in Mentoring Young Men of Color that our boys need mentoring, nurturance, love, and direction not suspension, expulsion, zero tolerance, and prison. I strongly suggest you read this important book. (Jawanza Kunjufu )

About the Author

Dr. Horace R. Hall is professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Research at DePaul. He is also the founder and co-director of R.E.A.L. (Respect, Excellence, Attitude, and Leadership), a Chicago-based youth mentoring program.

Product Details

• Paperback: 146 pages
• Publisher: R&L Education (June 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578864305
• ISBN-13: 978-1578864300
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #953,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mentoring Young Men of Color: Meeting the Needs of African American and Latino Students, August 14, 2006

By 

Sharon A. Montgomery - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mentoring Young Men of Color: Meeting the Needs of African American and Latino Students (Hardcover)

Mentoring Young Men of Color: Meeting the Needs of African American and Latino Students is an exceptional book. Anyone seeking enlightening on the delicacies of mentoring young men of color will learn techniques outlined by Horace Hall's empirical knowledge. Kudos for a job well done.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't just pick it up and read it...LIVE it!, August 6, 2006

By 

Eric Harris (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mentoring Young Men of Color: Meeting the Needs of African American and Latino Students (Hardcover)

Hall's Mentoring Young Men of Color makes a true attempt to inform and arouse readers to the less understood lives of Latino and African American boys. As a teacher, mentor and father of two boys, Hall's work completely resonated with my experiences, as both a teenager and adult.

Hall discusses the frequently used metaphor of youth of color as an "endangered species", not only from a societal standpoint, but also from the perspective of these males (most being unconscious as to their own self-destruction). The point he makes throughout the book is that these young men are part of our human existence and MUST be treated with the same care and concern that we give to more privileged and less troubled youth.

While Hall carefully lays out the predicament these boys face, he also goes on to offer realistic strategies that teachers, mentors and even parents can use to help these promising young men find hope and a vision for the future--strategies that I plan to use in my own classroom and household.

As my school has tried to put together programs for students, our attempts have mostly failed. However, from reading this book, I plan to return back to the drawing table, inspired and encouraged by what is possible from Hall's own mentoring experiences.

I strongly recommend this work--it's a quick and powerfully motivating read. Don't just pick it up and read it...LIVE it!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He lives his work, May 19, 2009

By 

Kristen M. Juskiewicz (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mentoring Young Men of Color: Meeting the Needs of African American and Latino Students (Paperback)

I actually have Dr. Hall as a professor at DePaul University. I read his book because I was inspired by his teachings. Dr. Hall does not base his analysis on pure research, although that does help with his teaching, he bases it on a true understanding of the needs of African American and Latino male students. As a mentor myself for African American students in Chicago, the words of Dr. Hall rang very true for me. This is a must read for any teacher, no matter if you teach in an inner city school, suburb, or a rural community. Despite their location, Colored students have different needs than White student. Their life experiences are different and their view on certain situations are different. This book is enlightening to all. Please read it and then pass it along to a fellow friend, college, or mentor.