Teaching While Black

One of a kind book

[review in progress]

Much of this book deals with the difficult and grinding task of educating students in the poorest neighborhoods in this country and documents with passion and excellence the inequities that exist. Not all is gloom, as successes with introducing students to their own history and culture, and developing performances that created attention for the schools and the dedicated students. And, heartwarming tales of students who succeeded with extra care and who had the resilience to keep trying are interspersed with the difficulties of teaching.

However, much of the book is personal in a way that splits the purpose of the book. Is it about education and the detrimental effects of data-driven instruction and teacher evaluation systems? Or, is it a memoir of a phenomenally gifted teacher who also faces racism, bullying, and personal issues which are the aftermath of growing up in the same neighborhood as her students? An interesting read.

Pamela Lewis' Teaching While black in New York City's Public Schools is a timely and imperative description of the issues surrounding America's flawed educational system. As an educator, I can say that any of Lewis' descriptions can be applied to all educational settings; however, every flaw that currently exists in education is compounded within today's inner city schools -- in fact, within all minority schools. Because Lewis shares her wealth of experience - her passion and gift of teaching -- with the reader, we can see more clearly the inequality that exists. Even under the tutelage of a creative and sensitive teacher, the cards are stacked against minority student success. The most devoted of teachers is destined to burn-out at some point.

I applaud Lewis for taking on the established educational system in her biography/memoir/expose' - a system that is, at best, misguided by non-educators, bureaucrats, administrators, government policy, and capitalism. Only a person of color can do justice to portraying the inequality of today's educational system, and Lewis does it with accuracy, love for her students, and a passion for the equality that should be guaranteed and granted to all. Lewis shows us that we should not be color-blind in our approach to education; instead we should revel in our differences and use those unique difference to teach pride in one's background/ethnicity, tolerance, and love.

Lewis makes a compelling argument in her book that race plays a large role in the life of students and clearly educators with diverse backgrounds can have great insights into how race consciousness influence the lives of students. I think this book is a valuable read for all educators. It certainly helped me to consider race more often when making positive instructional decisions. There are so many dimensions to this work and I think especially within a society that shys away from discussions on race and its influence it is an incredibly important work. It can help us approach problems that disproportionately affect black students, including such issues and discriminatory discipline and the achievement gap.

This book is an amazing perspective of the joys and challenges of being a person of African descent in an urban education environment. The author possessed a both amazing and interesting ability to share the volatility of her emotional engagement with students and in her personal life. The stunning and sharply-portrayed realities of instructional leaders in public schools was clearly brought into the readers' focus. Through it all, we were treated to an uplifting story of dedication and determination to grow as a person and to help others grow and improve themselves.