A review by mitskacir
For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Christopher Emdin

3.0

This book was a very easy and interesting read, so for that I recommend it to educators interested in redefining their classroom culture. However, I think that many of the suggestions would be very difficult to implement. Although advertised as being for white teachers, it seems to me that many of Emdin's suggestions would be difficult for white teachers to implement without seeming disingenuous or mocking of their students' cultures, rather than affirming. I am also conflicted as to Emdin's use of the term "neoindigenous" - I think that his message could have been made without using this problematic term. There were many really powerful examples of how teachers can transform their classroom or make it more welcoming to students of color, so I am glad I read it, and perhaps I will try some of the more challenging reforms later in my career (as there seems to be a lot of space for things to go wrong...).