New Books on Education

It is the season when school is starting for millions of students and I have been reading several new books having to do with education in the K-12 environment. This unusually long post reviews three soon to be published titles:

First, The Bridge to Brilliance by Nadia Lopez with Rebecca Paley (Penguin Viking; August 30, 2016) relates the story of Mott Hall Bridges Academy. This middle school was founded in 2010 by Lopez in a very poor neighborhood of Brooklyn. Even though her situation is quite different, I found many of Principal Lopez’s comments to be insightful, such as when she talks about “the basic tools of teaching: being present, being repetitive, coming at it from another way, asking many questions, having patience and not giving up.”  At the school where I teach, we just held an Institute Day session on the importance of names which definitely fits her philosophy.    

The Bridge to Brilliance is a very readable description of the challenges and struggles faced by both teachers and students. Lopez notes that “many issues contribute to the devastating difference between education for white children and education for those of color, including poverty, inequitable distribution of resources, and lower parental involvement and education levels.”  Lopez’s response? “Find the positive [in a student or situation] and use that as the starting place for improvement.”  She provides additional thoughts in chapters like “The Vision” or “Expanding Horizons” which are valuable for all of us who are working to support scholars and foster lifelong learners.

Mott Hall Bridges Academy was featured in the blog Humans of New York and profiled in The New York Times, The Atlantic and by pbs. The Bridge to Brilliance received a starred review from Booklist.

Teacher by Michael Copperman (U of Mississippi P, Sept. 6, 2016) is written by a Stanford graduate and describes his two years (2002 to 2004) in Teach for America with fourth graders in the Mississippi Delta. Frankly, Teacher was difficult to read at times, especially those sections which dealt with the prevalence of corporal punishment.  Copperman was clearly impacted, perhaps even traumatized, by his time with Teach for America and it makes me wonder how many other young, idealistic volunteers are also scarred by their experience. Coincidentally, pbs just published a video report about corporal punishment; noting that 70% of the cases occur in five states (Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia), although it is still permitted in twenty-one.

Kudos to the University of Mississippi Press for making Teacher by Michael Copperman available. As I read, I was reminded of The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy and of Christy by Catherine Marshall.  Set in different times and places, each of those books also described the experience of a first year teacher and a class full of students living in poverty.   Copperman continues to make a difference and now works with first-generation college students of diverse backgrounds at the University of Oregon.

Substitute by Nicholson Baker (Penguin Blue Rider Press, Sept. 6, 2016) is a lengthy and generally boring recap of the 28 days which Baker spent as a substitute teacher. He won the National Book Critics Circle Award fifteen years ago for another non-fiction work, Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper. However, I was most disappointed in how little analysis or introspection was presented in Substitute, although I am beginning to understand that this fits with Baker’s writing style and heavy emphasis on description. As I read, I wondered again and again how he was able to capture the many details and still be fully present for children as a substitute teacher. For example, were those mind-numbing worksheets a time-filler provided on days with substitutes or a regular part of the students’ school experience?  A more useful work would have embedded the author as an observer for a longer period and with a consistent group of students as Kristina Rigza described in Mission High. ADDED September 8:  Here is his analysis (at least in part), recently published in The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/11/magazine/fortress-of-tedium-what-i-learned-as-a-substitute-teacher.html

Baker lives in Maine so there is some logic in his choosing a state where teachers make only 87% of the national average salary and one whose education system scored C+ (marginally better than Illinois and the national score) in Education Week’s overall evaluation. Also, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative began in 2002 as the first to give all older students a laptop. Baker, though, just kept repeating details of his “teaching” days and did not reflect on any of these variables; nor did he seem to describe the positive use of technology despite over 100 references to iPads. Despite its starred review from Booklist, I recommend substituting a different title for this one.

If you have a book related to education to recommend, please let us know.  Teachers are incredibly inspirational – for students and for each other.  As librarians, we are so fortunate to have the national School Librarian of the Year working in one of our sending districts.  Congratulations to Todd Burleson of Hubbard Woods school!

More on September 11

The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner is another new novel written about September 11th.  This one focuses on that Tuesday morning in New York City and the days immediately afterwards.   The main character, Kyle, was a student at Stuyvesant High School and with some classmates walked back to his home in Brooklyn – along the way, he found a teenaged girl who is so traumatized by the events of the day that she cannot even remember her name.

Kyle’s Dad is a first responder and his Mom is grounded in California so once home he has to deal with this girl and with his Uncle Matt who is now wheelchair-bound due to an earlier injury.  Author Gae Polisner offers reaction to the day in both poetic and narrative form, from both the girl and Kyle.  She dramatically captures the range of emotions, including numbness, which spread across the country at that time.  Students will quickly be drawn into events and find this book to be moving and poignant, although the ending seemed a bit abrupt.

The Red Bandanna by Tom Rinaldi is a non-fictional work which tells the story of Welles Remy Crowther, a young man who worked for Sandler O’Neill in the World Trade Center.  Welles had experience as a volunteer fireman and exhibited honor, selflessness, and courage to help save at least a dozen people on September 11.  More of his story is told in this ESPN video.

In The Red Bandanna, Rinaldi further describes Crowther’s life and his values.  This is a very inspirational story and may encourage readers to investigate subsequent charitable works, including character development programs through The Red Bandana Project or the picture book crafted by Crowther’s sister and father.  A true hero, Welles Crowther certainly deserves our respect and admiration, although Rinaldi’s book seemed a bit repetitive and slow; it included much more background (like Crowther’s time playing lacrosse at Boston College) prior to the 9/11 events.   

In addition to The Red Bandanna by Tom Rinaldi and The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner, see other books about September 11, including the novels Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard, and All We Have Left by Wendy Mills, plus the middle school book Nine, Ten. For alternative formats, see the graphic novel, In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman and With Their Eyes which contains the script of a play based on interviews with Stuyvesant high school students. These, plus other non-fiction titles will be available at our new library.

A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

I just finished reading A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny, the latest (August 30 release) in her Chief Inspector Gamache stories set in the tiny village of Three Pines in Quebec. By chance, I came across some notes and an appropriate quote from Penny’s earlier work, When the Light Gets In:

“Armand Gamache had always held unfashionable beliefs.  He believed that light would banish the shadows. That kindness was more powerful than cruelty, and that goodness existed, even in the most desperate places.  He believed evil had its limits.” A Great Reckoning describes yet another test of those beliefs, as Gamache takes on the responsibility of leadership at Quebec’s Surete Academy, seeking to reform the educational experience of future law enforcement officers.

In the process, he has to solve a murder and protect four young cadets, one of whom seems to despise him and another for whom Gamache seems to have a strong connection.  All four young people spend time with the inhabitants of Three Pines and all struggle to find themselves as adults and professionals. A mysterious map of Three Pines offers insight into the village history and provides additional twists for the reader.

While A Great Reckoning is another terrific story about Armand Gamache, it was made even more special by the author’s note and recognition of the personal difficulties which Louise Penny has faced while continuing to write about her beloved character.  I would recommend this series to mystery fans and since A Great Reckoning is one of my favorites in the series, I am pleased to note that this new title received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus AND Library Journal. 

Mystery fans may also want to mark their calendars since Julia Keller (Sorrow Road) and Elsa Hart (Jade Dragon Mountain) will be appearing locally at the Bookstall next Thursday, August 25 at 6:30pm. 

Although Sorrow Road is one of at least a half dozen novels in the Bell Elkins series, it is the first one I have read. Keller skillfully fills in the background about the characters: prosecutor and Georgetown Law School grad Bell Elkins, her much younger boyfriend Clay Meckling, her daughter Carla and other West Virginia residents.  However, I was disappointed since based on the title’s description, I expected much more about WWII and felt that the pace was a bit slow. Professional reviewer opinions were split:  Kirkus says that Sorrow Road “isn’t the best of Keller’s deeply nuanced, beautifully written examinations of life and death in hardscrabble coal country” while Booklist gave it a starred review.  Jade Dragon Mountain is set in the mountains of China and Tibet in 1708 and features Li Du, a former imperial librarian who works to solve a murder. Hart’s debut novel (a second work about Li Du will be released soon) is on my “to read” list and has received generally positive reviews, including one from Louise Penny.

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue is a debut novel with much promise and tells the story of Jende and Neni Jonga, husband and wife immigrants from Cameroon in West Africa. In 2008, Jende has a work permit (although it is soon to expire) and acts as chauffeur for an executive, Clark Edwards, at Lehman Brothers. Neni has a student visa and is pursuing her dream of becoming a pharmacist at a local community college.  

The Jongas’ life gradually becomes more entwined with the Edwards’ troubles and, despite good intentions, there are plenty of tough choices being made.  The Edwards’ son, Vince, turns down a law internship to “find himself” in India. Meanwhile, both Clark Edwards and his wife Cindy succumb to increasing financial pressures and resort to their own vices, including prostitution, drugs and alcohol. Jende’s legal status, his job, and Neni’s schooling are increasingly in peril.   Behold the Dreamers is very readable; the struggles which these characters face to pursue their dreams, to care for their families, and to act in in a moral way are absorbing. I will be recommending Behold the Dreamers for Junior Theme, especially for those classes who read and study about the immigrant experience.

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue received a starred review from Kirkus. 

Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole

I have also recently explored a collection of essays called Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole, the Nigerian-American author and photographer. His earlier award winning work, Open City, will be part of the readings assigned for a Senior English elective this year and I was curious about this new title.  The over fifty essays in Known and Strange Things – collected over several years - are divided into three sections (Reading Things, Seeing Things, Being There) and are followed by an Epilogue.  There is a great deal of opinion and emotion.  For example, anger and resentment are evidenced by essay titles such as “White Savior Industrial Complex” and his labeling of the micro-aggressions of American racism.  Like Jesmyn Ward in The Fire This Time, Cole refers to the works and life of James Baldwin, quoting him as saying, “People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.” How would other writers that students are required to read, like Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me) respond?

Cole also shares some insights about his own writing, noting: “My goal in writing a novel is to leave the reader not knowing what to think.  A good novel shouldn’t have a point.” That alone should prompt some interesting arguments in English this coming school year. Both Booklist and Kirkus gave starred reviews to Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole.