And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-City Students [School & Library Binding]

Miles Corwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2001

Bestselling author of The Killing Season and veteran Los Angeles Times reporter Miles Corwin spent a school year with twelve high school seniors -- South-Central kids who qualified for a gifted program because of their exceptional IQs and test scores. Sitting alongside them in classrooms where bullets were known to rip through windows, Corwin chronicled their amazing odyssey as they faced the greatest challenges of their academic lives. And Still We Rise is an unforgettable story of transcending obstacles that would dash the hopes of any but the most exceptional spirits.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The typical image of South-Central Los Angeles doesn't lend itself to peaceful and productive high schools. But as Los Angeles Times reporter Miles Corwin chronicles in this troubling yet uplifting book, the ills of the inner city have not completely defeated Toni Little's advanced-placement students at Crenshaw High School, with whom Corwin spent the 1996-1997 academic year as a silent observer. Having grown weary of writing about gang violence, drive-by shootings, and drug arrests, Corwin wanted "to find a way to write about the other children of South-Central, the students who avoid the temptations of the street, who strive for success, who, against all odds, in one of America's most impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhoods, manage to endure, to prevail, to succeed." He also wanted to show "how truly slanted the playing field remains, how inequality is built into a system touted as a meritocracy." Though 98 percent of the students in the gifted program go on to attend college, it takes a near superhuman effort for them to reach graduation day. In And Still We Rise, Corwin details exactly why.

Corwin's poignant portraits of the students and his sensitive evocation of the effort it requires for them to pursue their education are among the many strengths of the book. There's Olivia, the abused former runaway, ward of the county, and gifted student; Sadikifu, the promising Muslim rapper who constantly fights the gritty allure of gang life; and Toya, who lost her own mom to domestic violence and who struggles to balance schoolwork and motherhood. Corwin further explores the intricate intersections of affirmative action, educational expectations, urban neglect, and racism. By turns shocking and inspiring, this is journalistic work that gets to the core of its subject to reveal students who "value education, sacrifice much to further their educations, and overcome many obstacles--including even their own teachers--in order to obtain their educations." It shouldn't be so hard. --Eugene Holley Jr. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Los Angeles Times reporter Corwin offers a viscerally affecting glimpse inside the world of an inner-city high school. Hewing to the approach of his first book, The Killing Season: A Summer Inside an LAPD Homicide Division, he followed the seniors in an Advanced Placement (AP) English class from their first day of school in 1997 to graduation. Overcrowded, underfunded Crenshaw High School has a dropout rate of almost 50%. Notorious as the setting for the movie Boyz 'n the Hood and as home base for one of L.A.'s worst gangs, Crenshaw is located in the impoverished and crime-ridden South-Central district. The struggling students whose stories Corwin adroitly interweaves face trying circumstances: some have parents on welfare, in prison or addicted to crack; many work at part- or full-time jobs; several cope with the scarring effects of physical or sexual abuse. Yet most minority students in Crenshaw's "gifted magnet program" manage to get As and go on to college. Corwin succeeds admirably in avoiding the cliched image of inner-city schools, with wide-eyed, altruistic teachers and menacing students. For example, he describes Toni Little, the white AP English teacher (nearly all of whose students are black), as a volatile, histrionic personality who frequently involves students in her bitter ongoing battle with administrators. California voted to end affirmative action in 1997, and Corwin passionately argues that affirmative action programs are an imperfect but necessary measure to level a grossly uneven playing field. His profiles of high achievers who shun the temptations of the street are sure to inspire. Agent: Barney Karpfinger. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• School & Library Binding: 420 pages
• Publisher: San Val (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613517911
• ISBN-13: 978-0613517911
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,364,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for those with children., June 20, 2000

By 

Irene Suver "Irene Suver" (SEATTLE, WA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-city High School Students (Hardcover)

This gripping immersion into inner city school life makes the perfect companion read to Tracy Kidder's "Among Schoolchildren". From a nice, safe, concerned, caring enviornment, where the problems are understandable and manageable in "Among Schoolchildren"; to a place where success is measured not merely by acheivement but by the tremendous obstacles students must overcome merely to be in school, in this gripping, similarly styled work. The two books are a startling picture of the tremendous gulf of opportunity and enviornment at the spectrum ends of our society.

I strongly recommend both books, to everyone; not just parents, teachers or those who are usually associated with "education" interests. "And Still We Rise.." is not merely a vision of a brutal social/educational reality that must be addressed, but a poignant drama, as well. The young people whose stories are followed are the heroes of the most brutal battles raging today; crime, drugs, racism, and a culture of despair and degradation. These are the best and the brightest ... they are forced to face obstacles that should be reserved only for those who have transgressed horribly against society.

The incidental intrusion of the writer into this jouranlistic narrative is the only jarring note to be found in an otherwise seamless view. The unfortunate, even tragic circumstances that cause that intrusion, however, are understandable, from a human standpoint, even if they are inexcusable as viewed through the prism of journalistic purity.

An emmimently readable, engaging work. Recommended.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RISE BEFORE YOU DROWN, May 26, 2000

By 

Bonita L. Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-city High School Students (Hardcover)

Nothing good can come out of a ghetto school especially one in South Central Los Angeles. If you believe in that statement then Miles Corwin's "And Still We Rise" will shatter your stereotype of the typical high school ghetto students. Corwin chronicles the lives of twelve exceptional high school students during the school year of 1996-1997. We are taken on a journey in the lives of these young people who battle gang violence, abuse, homelessness, and full time work to become great academic achievers in their high school. Corwin raises some pertinent questions that we need to consider. Why for example, are few advance placement classes offered in poor communties and inner city schools? Why are school administrators and teachers are allowed to play their petty political games at the expense of the students? Does the death of Affirmative Action mean the future absence of minority students in our nations' colleges and universities? Why are we willing to write off the education of our students simply because of their race and their economic conditions? The fact that these young people were able to rise above the conditions placed upon them is a testament to the human spirit's tenacity. How many more are there that need a boost to rise above those limitations that even adults find disconcerting? I enjoyed Corwin's text because it showed even in the worst of circumstances there is hope and it is a clarion call for us to become more active in the school system. Most of all it allowed us to get a brief glimpse of the lives of these inspirational young people. I highly recommend this book as a text not only for inspiration but for intervention in a system that fails its students.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another story from the 'hood, July 28, 2000

By 

K "Mom of Noah and Grace" (North Hollywood, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-city High School Students (Hardcover)

After working in the LAUSD, I know how demoralizing it can be for faculty and students alike. Therefore, as an educator, I frequently seek out stories about kids who have developed a love of learning.

What was most interesting about this book was the representation of the relationship between Little and the students. While Little wasn't shown to be the most stable teacher, she had a strong and caring relationship with the students in her class.

Each of the stories of the students is compelling. From Olivia to Danielle, they ran the gamut of pathologies and outcomes, like any classroom. Ultimately, as a reader, I wanted to keep going to find out what happened to each student.

This book reminds me tremendously of Hope in the Unseen. I am frequently sceptical of the white middle class observer who bears witness to the folly of inner-city education. I worry about the accuracy of any ethnographic representation "getting it right." But like Hope in the Unseen, this book isn't for the kids who struggle, but it's for the middle class to observe and hopefully feel empathy towards the struggles of these students.

One complaint I do have about the book is how the descriptions of the students were redundant and also how each student came with a one phrase tagline (i.e., Miesha, whose brother Raymond acted as her surrogate guardian). Maybe it was more noticeable to me because I read the whole thing in one sitting. Or perhaps it is more symptomatic of the anthropolgists perspective.

Irrespective, this book will give much food for thought around the ideas of equity, priviledge and levelling the playing field.