It’s Not About Grit: Trauma, Inequity, and the Power of Transformative Teaching

by Steven Goodman, Michelle Fine (Foreword)

Speaking out against decades of injustice and challenging deficit perceptions of young learners and their families, It’s Not About Grit pulls back the veil, revealing the social systems that marginalize and stigmatize mostly poor, urban students of color and their communities. At the same time, author Steven Goodman, founding executive director of NYC’s highly acclaimed Educational Video Center (EVC) for nearly 35 years, shows the tremendous intelligence, resilience, and sense of agency of these students. Through the students’ in-school and out-of-school experiences, enhanced with a curriculum guide and award-winning video clips from EVC, Goodman encourages educators to make a difference and demonstrates how to create a safe and inclusive school climate where their teaching responds to students’ culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, language, housing status, and ability. Teachers will use this book to develop a pedagogy of transformative teaching.

“To those of you who are educators, teaching in ‘revolting times,’ under difficult circumstances, working with students who need you as much as ever, this book is a gift and a life raft.”
—From the Foreword by Michelle Fine, distinguished professor at the Graduate Center, CUNY

“This is a vivid and arresting answer to a newly cultish fashion . . . a terrific book and badly needed at this time when ‘grit’ has become the magic word in pedagogic thinking about inner-city kids.”
—Jonathan Kozol, education activist and bestselling author

“This book reads like an absorbing documentary; these are stories that need a public response to match the work of EVC.”
—Deborah Meier, education reform leader

“Nobody knows better than Steve Goodman how to help young people tell their stories and, in the process, empower themselves with research and video skills and an activist sense of justice.”
—Joseph P. McDonald, professor emeritus, New York University

Genres: Education, Research

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2018

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every teacher should read this book. Goodman expertly shows the overlap between trauma and systemic issues of inequity such as racism, incarceration, police violence, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, poverty, immigration, and foster care. Throughout, students tell their stories supplemented by quality research. This book puts in plain words what many people are too afraid to say, gives a clear call to stand up and address these issues for the good of our students and listen to students' experiences, and supports that call with clear teaching and administrative strategies to support students. Easily one of the best trauma-informed education texts I've read.

[Peaches · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book makes compelling arguments that dispel the notion of grit that so many school systems adopted years ago. While I still believe in Dweck's perceptions of mindsets, cultivating mindsets through grit is ineffective for students who have experienced trauma. I did find Goodman's writing style a bit hard to follow and I think examples of what educators can do instead of theory, then examples of how students are living, and wrapping it up would be more effective. Just because Goodman gives insight into poverty doesn't mean teachers know how to create trauma-informed curriculum. Also, I hate that once again a white author is profiting over marginalized students' lived experiences.

[Betsy Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but very difficult and somewhat dated. It’s infuriating to hear student stories about how education is failing them. This crap can’t continue, but it will. Nothing on this earth is more powerful than American indifference for the education of black and brown bodies.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for all educators.

[Ali Piccininni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely important and insightful book, especially for teachers. Although, everyone would be able to get something out of it.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible, well organized.

[bee burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read this for a class and it was enlightening