Crossing Over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms

by Gloria Ladson-Billings

"Gloria Ladson-Billings provides a perceptive and interestingaccount of what is needed to prepare novice teachers to besuccessful with all students in our multicultural society. Thisbook is must reading for all those entering the profession ofteaching today and for those who prepare them for this importantwork."
--Ken Zeichner, associate dean and professor of curriculum andinstruction, School of Education, University ofWisconsin-Madison

"The multiple voices in Gloria Ladson-Billings's book arecompelling, provocative, and insightful-they provide a powerful'insider' perspective on what it really means to learn to teach allchildren well."
--Marilyn Cochran-Smith, professor of education and editor, Journalof Teacher Education, Boston College, School of Education

"Ladson-Billings, one of the stellar researchers and mostpassionate advocates for social justice, has written yet anothermasterpiece. By weaving the novice teachers' voices, her personalteaching journey, and language rich in compelling research andinspiring metaphors, Ladson-Billings has documented how newteachers transform schools and teach poor children of color."
--Jacquline Jordan Irvine, Candler Professor of Urban Education,Emory University, Division of Educational Studies

"Masterful teacher and teacher-educator Gloria Ladson-Billings hasgiven us--in highly readable form--a brilliant vision of whatteacher education might become. In Crossing Over to Canaan we get aglimpse of how a carefully constructed teacher education programfocused on teaching for social justice can produce excellentteaching, even by young, middle-class teachers-in-training, indiverse educational settings."
--Lisa D. Delpit, Benjamin E. Mays Professor of EducationalLeadership, Georgia State University

The author of the best-selling book The Dreamkeepers shows howteachers can succeed in diverse classrooms. Educating teachers towork well in multicultural classrooms has become an all-importanteducational priority in today's schools. In Crossing Over toCanaan, Gloria Ladson-Billings details the real-life stories ofeight novice teachers participating in an innovative teachereducation program called Teach for Diversity. She details theirstruggles and triumphs as they confront challenges in the classroomand respond with innovative strategies that turn cultural strengthsinto academic assets. Through their experiences, Ladson-Billingsillustrates how good teachers can meet the challenges of teachingstudents from highly diverse backgrounds--and find a way to "crossover to Canaan." She offers a model of teaching that focuses onacademic achievement, cultural competence, and socio-politicalconsciousness.

Drawing from her own experiences as a young African-Americanteacher working in Philadelphia, she successfully weaves togethernarrative, observation, and scholarship to create an inspirationaland practical book that will help teachers everywhere as they workto transcend labels and categories to support excellence among allstudents.

Genres: Education, Race, Social Justice, Teaching, Nonfiction, School

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2001

Reviews

[Riah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the premise of this book, but there just wasn't enough detail to make it really worthwhile. I wanted to know a lot more about the teachers and what actually happened in their classes.

[Caroline Lampinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this book misguided. I expected a much higher-level and in depth reflection and explanation of best practices for instructing and leading beginning teachers to be culturally responsive and conscious; I did not get that, the first indicators being the font and format of the book- it feels made to take up space, rather than present a plethora of helpful information.

Instead, this book is a short debrief of an alt-very masters program focused on diversity in the classroom. The author seems to know much more than is in the book, and the review is generally interesting but reads as a quick overview of things I've already heard as someone deeply interested in this topic.

Not a required read, but interesting.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for beginning teachers to understand equity issues they will face. Experienced teachers may also benefit by taking a fresh look at their classroom.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a class on diversity in the classroom. Not sure what I was hoping for personally, but it is a very good summery of an ethnographic research project looking at fourth graders in america. Durkheim does downtown, as it were. My problem with the book has more to do with the limits of ethnography rather than the ethnographers. The author manages to evoke a lot of sympathy even for the least sympathetic of families.

In a summary chapter she notes that even the craziest households felt quite homey after visiting for a while.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ladson-Billing's book about the teacher prep program she and others started at U-W Madison to train teachers to work in diverse classrooms. It's a story about her own coming-of-age-as-a-teacher, too. The book bogs down in the stories of each individual student teacher and the challenges she faces, and although Ladson-Billings is a smooth writer, by the end of each chapter it's not clear what the point is. Thank goodness for the italics that let me know what it was supposed to be.

[Cheryl Meibos · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care for the assumptions regarding "the average white
teacher"--but then I work in schools where anyone who is white
is a minority. What I did learn--look to the students to see
what sparks their interest. I really don't like to view students
through racial lenses, which is what this book is encouraging you
to do.

[AndrewR · Rating 2 out of 5]

required reading for a single subject credential course, i didnt really relate to most of the issues being dealt with by the student teachers being observed...on the other hand Other People's Children I really found to be pertinent.

[Jen Chau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was helpful in terms of initiating my thinking about diversity in the classroom. It was helpful to hear some anecdotal experiences from folks who went through diversity teacher training... but I was left wanting more guidance on how educators can actually make diversity work in schools.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another thought-provoking work by the author of Dreamkeepers. A relatively quick read, this synthesis of theoretical and practical aspects of education in diverse classrooms amply whets the appetite of the invested reader hungry to learn more about both aspects.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminds me of the thoughtful colleagues I worked with at Cardinal Stritch in Milwaukee.

[Rhonda]

I like the author's anecdotal approach to theorizing and emphasizing the relevance of the "Teach for Diversity" program. This book was informative, engaging and an easy read.

[Abby Dreps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important ideas-bad format/presentation

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good author and researcher. Just happens to be highly specific to the field of teacher training. A little too specific for me.

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

teacher book!