Customer Reviews

Taught by America: A Story of Struggle and Hope in Compton

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I both agree and disagree with Lashonda's previous review. There are certainly Hollywood movies along the lines of which she speaks. I can't remember the names but I know Michelle Pfeifer and Tom Berenger were in 1 or 2 each. The "great white savior" types of movies where seemingly all it takes is a dedicated white teacher to turn these kids' lives around.

In the case of this book though, I didn't get that feeling. The author doesn't portray herself as any sort of hero. Nor does she protray the TFA as an organization that is saving the world. After being part of it I think she realizes it does nothing. If anything, she presents herself as a failure. She often questions whether or not this or that was the right thing to do or say in this or that situation. She says she knows she got more from the kids than they got from her, and that she fears she'll get more from the writing of the book than they will from hearing about it or reading it.

I think this book succeeds because Miss Ivy League oh nothing was given to me I worked for everything I have, etc... type of person finally realized that yes she was indeed given things which many are not...the gift of being a white, middle-class American. She found out that no, she didn't show up to classes and receive As simply because she's blond and white, so yes in that sense she had to work for them. What she learned is that she had the luxury of being able to focus on learning for all those years because she had the priviledge of never having to worry nor care about anything else. Those of you reading this review, think back to your childhood days and your place in life right now. Now imagine what that life may have been like had you not had all the things that strike you as being comfortable. A desk. The required books. A full stomach. Read this book, the list is much longer.

It's a shame that the USA has never seemed to realize how often it crushes its own people. The mandatory testing section should be able to make anyone who has a conscience hate this country (if you don't already). If the white middle and upper classes found out their children were being subjected to the things during school hours to which these children (and children like them all over the country) are being subjected, the American public-education system would be overhauled and fixed within the year. That's a fact.

Part of why this book succeeds is because the author failed. As a full-grown woman she couldn't cut it for even 3 years in the public schools of the American ghetto, yet we as a nation expect 5 through 18-year-olds to succeed in this same system?? Don't read this book and think of her as just 1 person. Think of her as a metaphor for 96% of White America in terms of what she can handle and what she thought she knew about this nation.

This book and some of these kids will break your heart. If you read this book and never break down in tears, you're a more stoic person than I. America is still broken. Ghetto kids don't need to read this book. Adults from and/or still in the ghetto don't need to read this book. They are this book, they live this book. Every white American should read books like this. Actually read this one last. First read When Affirmative Action Was White, then Shame of the Nation, then this.

Intelligence is but one part of the key to learning. It's not even the most important aspect. Opportunity and access are what it's all about. Take away those 2 and the brightest mind in the state may be slangin' 'caine on the corner.

The vulnerability expressed by the author in dealing with a situation that was WAY beyond her control was incredibly moving and inspiring. An idealist at heart, Sentilles went into Teach For America for all the right reasons, and when it became clear that TFA had no intentions of providing her with the resources she needed to succeed, she stayed and fought the system right alongside her kids. In a place where many people would have set themselves apart and focused on the differences, Sentilles relentlessly tried to bridge the gap between herself and her kids and provide them with the tools they would need to succeed in the world beyond school - love, support, compassion, humor, and kindness.

This is a beginning teacher in the "Teach for America" program that starts her career in the Compton, CA area better known as the Watts area in LA. Since I have been a teacher for 36 years and live in LA, I relate to this book and her many disappointments and joys. Read it--you'll love it, especially if you are or have been a teacher.

A few years ago, at a point when I didn't know what my life's purpose was (I still don't), someone suggested that I consider getting involved in Teach For America because his sister does it. I did start filling out that application but quickly realized this was not a program I wanted to get involved in because I feel something like this isn't enough to fix these struggling schools. I knew I wouldn't be able to tough it out in this kind of environment. Also, the person who suggested TFA to me is from a privileged background, and those who are privileged tend to think that by having a positive attitude and graduating from an Ivy League equips them to be effective in saving these "po' colored chilluns." I strongly disagree. While I am a minority who didn't grow up with a silver spoon in her mouth, I didn't have it as bad as the kids mentioned in this book, but I can see where many of them are coming from.

Sarah Sentilles' book showcases this kind of privileged attitude. The constant reminders of her being "rich, white, and privileged" permeate through the pages of this book. For someone who claimed she cared deeply about these kids she ran for the hills when her tenure there was over. Even in the acknowledgment pages at the end she mentions how her parents "subsidized" her writing (I believe that's code for still getting support from Mommy and Daddy). I don't think Sentilles was as willing to learn from these kids or step up to the plate as much as she claims the experience made her do. A lot of the signs of abuse and neglect were right in front of her face (one child's mother hits her in the face in front of the classroom, another child's mother keeps her from school, etc.) and she does very little to do anything about it. Many pages mention her running home in tears, the sign of a woman who has never had to face life head on and who probably had her parents solving all her problems for her.

I feel as if these kids were pawns she used in all this. These kids to her are nothing but a source of anecdotes for her to use in her book. Many of them are mentioned in a few paragraphs and are never seen or heard from again. I'm curious to know what happened to these kids. They've gotta be in their late teens-early 20s now. Many of the kids seemed bright---they were good readers, good in art, and seemed to have a love of school---but that's not enough for Sentilles to continue caring about them. I also hated how she had her favorites, the ones whose houses she'd visit and who she'd treat to special gifts and treats, and her hated students, ones who had slews of problems not of their own doing. I do wonder if she got permission from all the kids and families featured---not just the ones she mentions tracking down in the book---to use their names and likenesses. Either way, I feel using them in this book like this was exploitative.

These kids are the real heroes in this book. They are living in rough environments surrounded by crime and drugs. Some do have involved parents but many of them have absentee fathers, drug-addicted mothers, and are being raised by grandmothers too old and ill to be dealing with small children. The schools they're learning in are in constant states of disarray and are decrepit with poor resources. It seems as if no one cares about them. I feel that if Sentilles cared she would've found a way to keep in touch with them throughout the years. It's no wonder why one of them had a disillusioned and indifferent attitude towards her when she managed to track him down in high school. These "Great White Hopes" are more like "Great White Hypes."

I finished this book feeling very upset. So Sentilles got a great story out of the miserable lives these kids live, but what happens next? She got to go back to grad school so she could get involved in the ministry, probably helping more privileged white folks, but ran from helping the ones who need it most, that being the poor, underserved minority kids who need it most.

Taught by America is open, honest, and a pure pleasure to read. Sarah Sentilles bears her soul in this book which offers a glimpse at what we know, what we think we know, what we need and what we think we need in terms of public education, especially in our inner cities. Her deep and profound sense of justice prevails, but is never heavy-handed. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing this important book with all of us...teachers, students, parents, etc.

I grew up white and middle classed. And by middle classed I really mean rich when compared to a large number of people. I knew nothing of the bottom part of the world.

My first experience at actually seeing the other side of the story was when I went to a meeting at a high school in New Jersey only a short distance from the mouth of the Holland Tunnel that lead to Manhattan and one of the richest parts of the world. Approaching the school, I was first struck by the razor wire topped chain link fences. And this was inside the building to seal off places such as the janitor's closet. How could anyone possibly get an education in such surroundings?

Then in Africa I realized just how well off the school in New Jersey was. New Jersey at least had electricity and running water. And the walls of the school in New Jersey were brick and not a home to the birds and bugs of the thatch roof and woven walls.

In Africa they have an excuse, the overall income of the country is so low that they are lucky to afford a teacher.

I can only be very thankful that there are people like Sarah Sentilles around. I would have been scared to go into the school in Compton, and I'm not a 21 year old white girl.

How can we ever forget these kids? Sarah's portraits force them into our hearts, making us care -- sometimes for the first time, really -- what happens to them in our nation's neglected public schools. With brutal honesty, Sarah admits she was out to save the world -- but couldn't. With thoughtful analysis, she suggests no mere program, not even the highly-touted, unrealistically optimistic Teach for America, can either. With this admission, she calls for systemic change, for an education system worthy of the name, and for justice in her kids' names. And she does it with lyrical prose and haunting images. A-plus!

I enjoyed this book. The author is very realistic and authentic in her discussions. I found it to be very thought-provoking.

One of the many valueable components of Sentilles' experiences, and her writing, is her ability to see and, in turn, express a critical perspective while also coping with personal cultural barriers, stereotypes, admitted innocence, and privilege. Her stories reveal as much about a broken education system as they reveal about her individual struggles to understand it.
It is refreshing to read a book of this genre (Teach-For-America memoir)that DOESN'T blindly champion the TFA program, but provides some much needed honest critique.
In addition, I commend Sentilles for not being a self-congratulating author recounting her "knight in shining armor" experiences in the inner-city.
Rather, in her book, she uses the same sensitive analytical voice for herself as much as for the TFA program, the ludicrous inequalities allowed by our national public education system, and the specific problems in Compton's schools.

We used this book for a women's book club study. It was very interesting and yet startling information. well written and a good read for anyone.