Author:
Bullough, Robert V., 1949-
Imprint:New York : Teachers College Press, c2001.
Descriptionxiv, 127 p. ; 24 cm.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-124) and index.
Note:Interviews with 34 children in an urban K-6 school are the focus of this little gem of a book. Juan and his mother are hiding from a gang who killed Juan's uncle. Shane was a drug baby. The author supplements his interviews with facts and reflections about homelessness, poverty, child abuse, absent fathers, parents using drugs, parental injury, and death. Yet in this school, Lafayette Elementary, children are generally doing well because of a dedicated and skilled group of teachers who, in general, avoid the pedagogy of poverty. Getting beneath the stereotypes of "at risk" children and illuminating the individual lives of each child he interviewed, Bullough shows how alike all children are in their hopes and aspirations and their desires to succeed academically and socially. The author has an abiding faith in children and a belief that good teachers who get to know their charges are the key to school improvement. But he argues beyond that for changes in social policy that reduce poverty, increase affordable housing, and make life better for all Americans, particularly children. -- from a Choice review
Note:Recommended in Best Books for Academic Libraries ; a Choice Outstanding Title
