Teaching While Black: A New Voice on Race and Education in New York City

by Pamela Lewis

Teaching should never be color-blind. In a world where many believe the best approach toward eradicating racism is to feign ignorance of our palpable physical differences, a few have led the movement toward convincing fellow educators not only to consider race but to use it as the very basis of their teaching. This is what education activist and writer Pamela Lewis has set upon to do in her compelling book, Teaching While A New Voice on Race and Education in New York City. As the title suggests, embracing blackness in the classroom can be threatening to many and thus challenging to carry out in the present school system.Unapologetic and gritty, Teaching While Black offers an insightful, honest portrayal of Lewis’s turbulent eleven-year relationship within the New York City public school system and her fight to survive in a profession that has undervalued her worth and her understanding of how children of color learn best. Tracing her educational journey with its roots in the North Bronx, Lewis paints a vivid, intimate picture of her battle to be heard in a system struggling to unlock the minds of the children it serves, while stifling the voices of teachers of color who hold the key. The reader gains full access to a perspective that has been virtually ignored since the No Child Left Behind Act, through which questions surrounding increased resignation rates by teachers of color and failing test scores can be answered. Teaching While Black is both a deeply personal narrative of a black woman’s real-life experiences and a clarion call for culturally responsive teaching. Lewis fearlessly addresses the reality of toxic school culture head-on and gives readers an inside look at the inert bureaucracy, heavy-handed administrators, and ineffective approach to pedagogy that prevent inner-city kids from learning. At the heart of Lewis’s moving narrative is her passion. Each chapter delves deeper into the author’s conscious uncoupling from the current trends in public education that diminish proven remedies for academic underachievement, as observed from her own experiences as a teacher of students of color. Teaching While Black summons everyone to re-examine what good teaching looks like. Through a powerful vision, together with practical ideas and strategies for teachers navigating very difficult waters, Lewis delivers hope for the future of teaching and learning in inner-city schools.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, African American

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 16, 2016

Reviews

[Faloni ©]

❤️🤍💙Teaching While Black: A New Voice on Race and Education in New York City by Pamela Lewis
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[Drick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pamela Lewis relates her story as a special ed/social studies teacher in the NY public school system in the South Bronx. Having grown up in similar situations like most of her students, she had an insight into their struggles most teachers, especially those white and not from the "hood", could just never have. She describes her efforts to educate her kids about the community and bringing them to life thru music, dancing, and play-acting. the book ends with her about to start a new venture - her own school for kids of African descent.

From all accounts, Lewis is a passionate and creative teacher who loves her kids, but the bureaucracy and standardization that impacted her school and many others across the country killed both the inner teacher and the students and so she left. The book leaves you with a great deal concern and sadness about the state of public education particularly in underfunded schools in under-resourced communities

[VIVIAN E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

an informative look at schools in impoverished black neighborhoods.

I personally feel a responsibility for the way black people were treated. I’m not sure why as I live in the north (MT) and we have very few people of color living here, but I think they are treated the same as anyone else. I do have a question for you. On page 200 on my kindle in your book you say, “in almost every instance 1 distinctive ingredient helped them rise above the rest”, but you do not say what that ingredient is. I’m not sure if these reviews are ever read, but would appreciate an answer.

[Trespertean Cade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

The book gives a fresh perspective…It validated my belief and disbeliefs in our educational system….Being black does not give you an advantage for reaching students it gives your a different lens in which to view our students….thank you for sharing your experience….

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teacher in my sixth year with Detroit, inner-city students, I see a lot of myself and my students in these pages. I cried, laughed and smiled as I read. I’m going to recommend this to all the teachers and parents I know!

[Nailah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only rated it 4 stars because I thought I was going to learn something but honestly it only reinforced what I already know.

[Laura Richee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I am not black, I could relate so much to what she talked about in the book.

[Kamarr Richée · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an educator of color, her descriptions of the challenges faced and the struggles to overcome them are very well stated. She takes the reader on a journey through her joys at becoming an educator, desires to impact her students, struggles with administration, the isolation of cliquish peers, and the myriad complexities in trying to maintain hope and the energy to persist in the face of it all. For anyone who wonders why the system is so broken, this is a great resource to turn to; and for anyone in the system who feels like no one understands, this may be the person you were looking for.