Dear EdEquity readers:
In this section of the resource list, I have included various books to
consider reading as well as additional resources forward by our list
members.
Books Reviews:
Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the Years of Hope by Jonathan Kozol.
New York: Crown, 2000. 388 pp. $25.00.
Rather than attempting yet another broad indictment of society's
indifference to the state of inner-city schools or the ravages of poverty
and violence on young Americans, in Ordinary Resurrections Jonathan Kozol
has written a lyrical portrait of children on the verge of innocence. The
anger and indignation that so clearly marked his early books has been
tempered by experience, and perhaps a certain amount of disillusionment.
His pace has slowed, his attention now wanders; his focus has shifted from
the immediate goal of exposure and elucidation of social evils to a gentle
contemplation of the power of spirituality and the resilience of youth.
Perhaps unintentionally, he has also penned an intensely personal and
moving account of his own attempt to come to terms with the apparent
inescapability of the social, educational, and political inequalities that
he has fought against for so long.
Kozol does not journey from school to school anymore. Age, concern for his
own ailing parents, and asthma - an affliction he shares with many of his
young friends - make travel and exploration increasingly difficult. The
majority of his time and effort is spent at one particular church, St.
Ann's in the South Bronx, where he attends services, teaches in the
after-school program, talks with the priest, and engages children in
conversations about God, life, love, and loss. Occasionally he pays a visit
to a classroom or a school, but there is much less emphasis on the specific
details of educational disparity than in many of his other works. Instead,
he deliberately and methodically looks for the good about him. He shows
children learning despite their surroundings, teachers who are committed
and intense advocates of their students, and a warm and supportive
environment at St. Ann's, where parents, the priest, other helpful adults,
and the children form a mutually beneficial and loving community from which
they can all draw strength.
This is not to say that this is an apolitical or entirely optimistic book.
While it concentrates on resistance and buoyancy, there are moments when
Kozol's tone becomes either hard and unforgiving or simply anguished. His
outrage at the dumping of waste material in residential neighborhoods,
where significant numbers of children suffer from bronchial problems, is
vehement. His dismissal of the assertion that money makes no difference in
the quality of schooling is acerbic. And his despair when speaking of
children discussing their regular trips to visit their fathers, brothers,
and uncles in state penitentiaries is palpable. In this sense, many of the
themes he plays are reminiscent of those from his earlier books, and they
lose none of their power here.
Nonetheless, Ordinary Resurrections is generally a tale of triumph over
tragedy. The lilting voices of the children are authentic and sincere, and
Kozol's love and respect for them is warmly apparent. Anyone looking for a
ray of light in an otherwise dismal sky would do well to listen to their
conversations for a while. After all, as Kozol writes, we all "look
continually for reasons to be hopeful. [We] just want them to be genuine"
(p. 155).
One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for Preschool Educators of Children
Learning English as a Second Language by Patton O. Tabors. Baltimore, MD:
Paul H. Brooks, 1997. 195 pp. $24.95.
In One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for Preschool Educators of Children
Learning English as a Second Language, Patton O. Tabors, a research
associate for the Projects in Language Development at Harvard's Graduate
School of Education, provides a comprehensive and readable resource that
early childhood teachers, administrators, and parents will find insightful
and invaluable.
One Child, Two Languages is divided into two parts: the first part
discusses children as language learners, while the second illustrates how
teachers can support children's second-language acquisition. As a
participant observer, the author studied culturally and linguistically
diverse young learners and teachers in one English-language classroom over
two years. The first part offers in-depth portraits of two children -
Juliana, a native English speaker, and Byong-sun, a second-language learner
- to demonstrate the complex process of acquiring language within a
learning environment. There are multiple examples that illustrate Juliana's
and Byong-sun's challenges in acquiring English.
The second part is a step-by-step guide that preschool teachers will find
useful in supporting children's second-language acquisition and social
learning in different classroom settings. There are strategies on how to
use the curriculum to promote language development, the teacher's role in
assessing the development of second-language learners, and working with
parents. One Child, Two Languages is a resource that can help preschool
educators begin to understand the complex challenges that second-language
learners face in acquiring English in the preschool classroom.
You Hear Me? Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys edited by Betsy
Franco.Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2000. 128 pp. $14.99.
You Hear Me? is a rousing anthology of poems, essays, and stories written
by young men aged twelve through twenty. In the preface to the book, editor
Betsy Franco states, "My philosophy has been that people should speak for
themselves" (p. xi). Abiding by this principle, Franco presents the young
men's writing without additional commentaries. This approach of letting the
poems and stories stand for themselves gives the reader a glimpse into the
experiences of teenage boys of varied ethnic backgrounds living throughout
the United States, as expressed through the boys' own words rather than
interpreted by an adult. The authors were recruited by various means. Some
were personally invited to submit written pieces, while others responded to
solicitations placed in creative writing journals and on the Internet, and
invitations given to writing projects in three cities.
Whether the teenage authors contributed one or several pieces of writing,
each helps to enlighten readers of this anthology. The writings are cogent
representations of the reality that adolescent boys encounter. From the
first poem, Quantedius Hall's powerful "Time Somebody Told Me," to the
last, dr's valiant untitled poem, the voices of these young men can be
heard clearly. The authors reveal themselves to be sons, fathers, friends,
and lovers. They write with refreshing frankness and, at times, explicit
language about varied themes that include love, pain, sports, drugs,
school, sexuality, death, difference, and racism.
This book demonstrates the possibilities of individual support and writing
programs that encourage individuals in their teens - years that are full of
challenges and rich with experience - to express themselves through
writing. A wide range of readers will learn from the worlds of teenage boys
as portrayed in this anthology. Parents, counselors, administrators, and
teachers should take this opportunity to hear the voices of teenage boys
revealing what is important to them, their trials, and their triumphs. In
addition, these writers speak to each other and to other teenagers who can
discover what experiences they share and take steps toward understanding
their differences.
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Disabilities:
FAPE: The Families and Advocates Partnership for Education project is a
strong partnership that aims to improve the educational outcomes for
children with disabilities. FAPE links families, advocates, and
self-advocates to communicate the new focus of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The project represents the needs of 6
million children with disabilities. Some of FAPE resources for parents
visit their website (www.fape.org) which provides information on IDEA'97,
including Spanish and Hmong translations of selected on-line documents and
printed materials. For information on research about best practices that
can be used to improve educational services call the toll-free telephone
number for assistance on IDEA'97, 1-888-248-0822.
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Summer Institute:
The CREATING PEACEABLE SCHOOLS Summer Institute is a training ground for
teachers, counselors, parents, community workers and school administrators
in the philosophy and practice of peaceable schooling. Through keynotes,
workshops, small group reflection and resource sharing, participants will:
* learn the components and principles of the Peaceable School
* address the roots of violence and explore personal responses to conflict
and difference
* practice hands-on conflict resolution skills
* explore the theory and practice of creating pro-social learning
environments, including alternatives to traditional discipline, classroom
management and evaluation
* gain exposure to a variety of proven curricula which meet state standards
* investigate means for integrating issues of social justice in the
classroom
* experience a model of a caring learning community
The Institute provides both a theoretical framework and practical solutions
for educators and community members struggling to find alternatives to the
culture of violence. Theory is linked closely to practice and a network of
graduates is created for ongoing support in trying out newly learned
skills.This year, the conference will be held Wednesday, June 27 through
Saturday,
June 30. Please scroll down for registration information.
Do feel free to call me at 800-999-1959 ext. 8127 or e-mail me at
peace@mail.lesley.edu if you need lodging information or a fuller
description of the program.Be sure to review the attached program outline
and list of
workshops!http://www.lesley.edu/peace.html
Sarah Grant
Program Coordinator
Center for Peaceable Schools
Lesley University
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Scholarships:
For more information on scholarship for students of color, please refer to
the Weber State University web page, go to Diversity Services and then
Multicultural Services. We have lots of information.
Thanks,
AnnaJane Arroyo
AJArroyo@aol.com
WSU Services for Multicultural Students.
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Final note:
Information on these resources is provided as a service to listserv
subscribers. EdEquity does not review or necessarily endorse these
publications or events.
Hilandia Rendon
EdEquity Moderator and Administrator
EdEquity-admin@mail.edc.org
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