Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools: Strategies to Close the Achievement Gap in American Classrooms | Education Reform & Diversity Resources for Teachers

This book is a great counter-story to the wealth of literature with a deficit focus. The truth about achievement gaps are that they are NOT simple, and cannot be attributed to economic status alone. Howard captures this point perfectly, with some hot topics coming out of the field of education, such as critical race theory and critically responsive pedagogy. He summarizes information that both teachers and policy writers could benefit from, as well as us graduate students.It is particularly helpful to teachers. While it isn't a cure to unresponsive teaching (because that has to come from inside), it certainly starts one thinking about what they may or may not be doing right by their minority students. Yet, Howard never places the blame on people who fail to do so, you can tell he only wants people to acknowledge the assets students bring to a classroom.Many of us never realize that "you are not smart enough" often translates to "you are not white enough" or "you are not rich enough" because the achievement gap treats the everything as a better-worse situation (with rich, white people on top) when in fact, many people bring a mix of assets, deficits, and simple differences. People don't necessarily mean to do this, but because they take their position for granted they may feel sympathy but they fail to feel empathy.