Brilliant Teaching: Using Culture and Artful Thinking to Close Equity Gaps

by Adeyemi Stembridge

Think like an artist and design a classroom that works―well―for everyone In Brilliant Teaching , you will come to understand that equity―when we view it from an informed, multi-layered, and artistic perspective―is the essential purpose of teaching. As education thought leader Dr. Adeyemi Stembridge argues, true equity does not need to defend or justify itself against detractors. Teaching for equity means creating student-centered opportunities that match the social, political, and economic context of the learning environment. Informed by both theory and extensive collaboration with K-12 teachers, Brilliant Teaching will help you develop a deep understanding of culture, one that you can leverage in order to be responsive to students. This book draws from a range of disciplines, including but going well beyond the post-modern and critical-theory-based discourse that dominate conversations today. Brilliant Teaching also pulls from art theory, cultural psychology, cognitive science, and learning theory, as well as classic historical texts within education. With this broad foundation, Dr. Stembridge offers an empowering, engaging approach that educators can use to help learners reach their own goals, and to move society onward and upward. For K-12 educators, preservice teachers, parents, school board members, and policymakers, this book is a breath of fresh air and inspiration in a world where culturally responsive teaching is increasingly recognized as a must.

288 pages, Paperback

Published July 6, 2023

Reviews

[Jolene Gen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - it’s hard to rate this book. I love Stembridge and find him so insightful and inspiring. A large percentage of this book is so heavy on philosophy that it took a great deal of concentration to read concepts at times - philosophy was broken down too deeply. Partway through the book it became more practical as it followed the ideas of one teacher.

Reads more like a college philosophy book for the first half then shifts into some practical teaching ideas later in the book.

[Emma-Kate Schaake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply crafted book about the philosophy, art, and purpose of equitable education.

[Jon McClintick · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read quite a few books on equity which are more practical and better argued than this. It's written by an educational consultant who clearly has not spent enough time in the classroom. It's a lot of theory and one case study of practical application. In between are some red herrings (outputs can be shifted to performance at will, who cares about tests or standards), strained metaphors (artists don't need practical technique apparently, neither do teachers), a few bits of just bad logic (teachers can just resolve underlying social issues by believing in our students because Hattie says so!), and a whole lot of uncited or loosely cited claims spoken as truth. It's shockingly bad writing hidden behind an academic veneer.

It pains me because the topic is so vitally important to education. Equity, fairness, whole child learning, and culturally responsive teaching really are important topics... but I've never read a book which argues so poorly for them. I spent more time yelling at the author for his poor reasoning and lack of practicality than I did learning. Perhaps it'll be a good book if you never heard about these ideas before or need ways to integrate them into your teaching philosophy... but there are better texts out there on these topics. For example, for practical planning, find almost anything on UDL instead. Or for better examples and discussion over the philosophies, pick up Oluo's So you Want to Talk about Race, Hammond's Cultural Responsive Teaching and the Brain, or Equity by Design.

[Kelsey Early · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has become a pillar in my teaching philosophy. Yemi packs so much depth into each sentence that you get something new from it every time you read it. He leads the reader down a crystal clear path of what the word "equity" truly has to do with education. His arguments are virtually faultless because of how well-grounded in history they are. Every one of his arguments has the power to transform your relationship to teaching. You will feel like doing something very impactful in the classroom is actually possible. That said, it may take you coming back to this book after years, before realizing it's power. I read Yemi's first book and attended his residency. I resonated deeply with his understandings, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work in a World Language classroom. I spent another year or two teaching, and learned about teaching with comprehensible input (CI). CI is the other pillar of my teaching philosophy. It informs language teaching through cognitive load theory and Krashen's language acquisition theories. But now, I've returned to his concepts through his new book, because I'm in a book club. It is reviving something in me. I feel excited to teach. I feel like I have the tools to actually teach responsively and equitably. And of course this makes sense, because one of the points Yemi makes is that brilliant teaching is made on the canvas of time. So I had to put in my time, and I'm excited to be in this phase of unobstructed hope.

[Keeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It really opened my eyes to how to better ensure that I am culturally responsive in my teaching. Dr. Stembridge really breaks it down in a way that is easy to understand, he puts himself into the stories and helps you to get a better grasp on what equity in the classroom looks like.