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A review by madanxiety
For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Christopher Emdin
challenging
informative
reflective
4.5
Wow, it took me a year, but I've finally finished this book. To be fair, I would've finished it a lot sooner if there was an audiobook version. In any case, it was an informative and transformative study for a teacher who aspires to break the molds of traditionalism and white supremacy in the classroom. I especially appreciated the outlines of practical activities and groupings to use in the classroom, though as someone with only one year of teaching under my belt, it's still daunting and hard to conceptualize putting into practice. I'm so weary of pedagogical theory that says nothing of practical application.
I feel quite failed by my university for having next to no instruction on classroom management. In truth, with almost everything in this book, I found myself thinking "but what if it doesn't work?" I would've liked to see more exploration of how to implement non-punitive consequences in class. It's not always possible to meet with students one on one. It feels like there's never time to do anything important fr! Time management & behavior management are for sure my weaknesses as a teacher.
The concluding quotes stuck out to me. There is so much misery and hopelessness among teachers, and it's hard to combat. I think the same can be said for the world at large. But I think all educators, at least initially, have some respect and hope for future generations, so it's our responsibility to hold onto that.
Emdin's personal identity is central to the text, which I think was sometimes perplexing but overall effective. White people have a calculated habit of ignoring or dismissing our racial identities, which in turn upholds white supremacy. So, while it's clear that Emdin's worldview as an African American Christian male teacher comes through, my takeaway is that we should all be putting all our cards on the table like this. And, specifically for White people, we must actively seek to branch out of our own, dominant culture.
4.5 stars because I'm sorry but I will never be able to read a tiny-font, dense, nonfiction text without struggle 😅. It's prob the best of its kind, though.
I feel quite failed by my university for having next to no instruction on classroom management. In truth, with almost everything in this book, I found myself thinking "but what if it doesn't work?" I would've liked to see more exploration of how to implement non-punitive consequences in class. It's not always possible to meet with students one on one. It feels like there's never time to do anything important fr! Time management & behavior management are for sure my weaknesses as a teacher.
The concluding quotes stuck out to me. There is so much misery and hopelessness among teachers, and it's hard to combat. I think the same can be said for the world at large. But I think all educators, at least initially, have some respect and hope for future generations, so it's our responsibility to hold onto that.
Emdin's personal identity is central to the text, which I think was sometimes perplexing but overall effective. White people have a calculated habit of ignoring or dismissing our racial identities, which in turn upholds white supremacy. So, while it's clear that Emdin's worldview as an African American Christian male teacher comes through, my takeaway is that we should all be putting all our cards on the table like this. And, specifically for White people, we must actively seek to branch out of our own, dominant culture.
4.5 stars because I'm sorry but I will never be able to read a tiny-font, dense, nonfiction text without struggle 😅. It's prob the best of its kind, though.