A Turning Point: School Integration

by Lucy Spigel Herman

A Turning School Integration is a personal account of Dr. Lucy Herman's experiences as a teacher and as an Instructional Leader during the integration of the public elementary schools in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Herman taught during the initial period of integration and busing, in both "white" schools and "black" schools, and she tells stories about the children and teachers from these schools. Dr. Herman had to handle a dearth of equipment and books, lackadaisical and unprepared teachers, students who were underprepared, hungry, belligerent, and racist. However, to combat these problems, Dr. Herman had interested, vibrant and intelligent faculty, students who couldn't see color, and teachers and staff who loved the students devotedly. A Turning School Integration shows how all these different factors gelled or deteriorated to make extraordinarily memorable years for Dr. She gives us snapshots into the daily routines of integrated public schools as she interweaves personal vignettes with intelligent commentary throughout the memoir. The book provides a rare insight into a time not often examined as honestly as Dr. Herman chooses to do. Dr. Herman was a dedicated elementary and middle-school teacher for her thirty-plus year tenure for the Norfolk Public Schools. She and her architect husband, Dr. Frederick Herman, lived their adult lives and raised their two children in Norfolk. After retiring from the public schools, Dr. Herman, a dyslexia expert, became a private consultant for students with various learning disabilities. Today she lives in retirement, although she is still teaching those around her.

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2012