Customer Reviews

A School of Our Own : Parents, Power, and Community at the East Harlem Block Schools (Teaching for Social Justice, 7)

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When I was a teacher in a New York City public school, professionals used to implore parents to get involved in their children's education. This involvement, of course, was to take place at home, because parents were not welcomed into the school except by invitation. What a difference there is between that relationship of school and home and the one described by Tom Roderick in this book! Parents were not only welcomed into the East Harlem Block Schools, they were in charge of the place. Roles for teachers and parents were clearly defined, but in the end, an elected parent board had decision-making power. The result: Children thrived, parents found themselves furthering their own education, and teachers discovered the pains and pleasures of breaking through barriers of race and class. This book is great social history with important lessons for schools and for community development in general.

i highly recommend this to anyone, but particularly if you're in community organizing or aspiring to be. the book is the true story of a group of working class parents who start, direct, and control their own progressive pre-school, which is collectively and democratically run by the parents of the students. unlike other warm, fuzzy books about community organizing, this one shows that in pursuit of their dreams, these community organizers faced conflict and challenges from its inception and continue to do so today, forty plus years later. the message is not that conflict should be avoided, or be regarded as a sign that a community project is not worthwhile, but embraced and resolved no matter how much of a challenge it is to resolve it. the solutions that the characters of the book are able to come up with serve as a great model to other community organizers for how to approach or even solve problems that are common in community organizations including; the difficult board member whose politics/vision doesn't match those of the rest of the group, class and race disparities in the hierarchy of the organization, coming up with a philosophy and mission for the organization and following through with it, dealing with the challenges that come from a truly democratic organization that is run by its members, starting a program with virtually no resources, and of course battling the political decisions and policies that stand in the way of the organization's dream. i really liked how they butted heads on everything from the school lunches to the sandbox sand in kids' hair, and had lots of personality clashes, but were unwilling to shy away from the democratic process, and how that led to some genius, creative compromises.

This gracefully written book tells an adventure story. It's set in the late 60s and early 70s, the time of the Great Society when hopes were high for breaking down barriers of Class and Race. It's full of unforgettable characters : Parents who live in East Harlem, near the market under the train tracks, and teachers and other people who come from outside the community and soon are engaged in learning how to work within it. Very relevant to the present day challenges of teaching and parenting.

With the start of the school year approaching, there is no better time to learn from the men and women whose struggles are documented in this wonderfully written book. The account of their journey to create better schools and better futures for the children in their community is both engaging and inspiring.

This is an exceptional book. I'm not an educator and found it spell binding. What I found most extraordinary was that, against so many odds, there were so many successes and that the school continues. The efforts of the families and teachers is humbling. One of the outstanding aspects of the book is the description of the way in which issues of class were confronted and dealt with. This seems to be an issue over which many well-intentioned efforts to change "the system" stumble. This account offers valuable insight as to how such challenges must be met. This book is of great value to anyone concerned with social change. It's also well written, which is a treat.