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Wall of Fame
As public education declined many Americans despaired of their children's future, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jonathan Freedman volunteered as a writing mentor in some of California's toughest inner-city schools. He discovered a program called AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) that gave him hope. In this work of creative non-fiction, Mr. Freedman interweaves the lives of AVID's founder, Mary Catherine Swanson, and six of her original AVID students over a 20-year period, from 1980-2000. With powerful personalities, explosive conflicts, and compelling action, Wall of Fame portrays the dramatic story of how one teacher in one classroom created a pragmatic program that has propelled thousands of students to college. This story of determination, courage, and hope inspires a new generation of teachers, students, and parents to fight for change from the bottom up. It will be possible to learm more about AVID and the Wall of Fame from the September 25th issue of Time magazine and upcoming segments of Oxygen and perhaps 60 Minutes II.
- GenresEducation
409 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 20, 2018
I am rounding this up from 1.5 stars because some of the students I assigned this to liked it *a lot.* I had to force myself to finish it.
This isn't really the story of AVID. It's the story of Mary Catherine Swanson, and therefore a story where AVID is described. I almost put it down for good when, on pg. 196 of 409--in a book about empowering under-served students--a tutor is described as having the following internal monologue about a reporter who is attempting to create a tempest in a teapot, "Guilt gave way to rage. You scum bag! She wanted to strangle the reporter, tie his belt around his neck and lynch him from the flagpole." WTF! Wanting to strangle someone who's wronged you? OK. That happens. Wanting to lynch someone? FROM A FLAGPOLE!?!?! Who the hell are we? The KKK? Now, these are Freedman's words put into this tutor's head, but I'm supposed to find her to be one of the most sympathetic people in the book, and all I can think is, "You think it's OK to lynch people" when her name comes up from that point forward.
It's the most immediate example of Freedman's oblivious-whiteness in the book, one which literally made me hurl the book to the floor of the car in disgust, but it's far from his only moment of white savior worship. The most glaring example of that is the first chapter of Part 4: One to the Power of Four, "A Day in Hell." Mary Catherine's day in hell is having two people quit her organization "without even telling her that they're sorry" (seriously, that's a quote) for higher paying, higher profile jobs. These people who lack "loyalty" are juxtaposed against the wife of Mary Catherine's former gardener, who is standing by her husband who recently suffered a debilitating injury during a surgery that Mary Catherine assisted in paying for when the "other gringos" forgot him (seriously, that's also a line from the book). I'm sorry, was Filomela offered a better paying job as a wife elsewhere? I'm not aware that that's a thing. Note, this is the first and last time we hear of these characters. Their entire purpose is to convince us that Mary Catherine is a good-white-person who pays for things that Medicare won't, and that she understands staying on mission better than those "greedy" career-climbers. This is not a crusade! People have a right to leave their jobs, and even to be excited about it! Freedman's construction of Mary Catherine as both white savior and white martyr is especially complete in this chapter.
The most glaring example of Freedman's non-understanding of race came a few chapters prior to the lynching comment, though, when he decided to juxtapose standing up to white supremacy to standing up to black supremacy, which would be possible, if the teenager in question were standing up to any kind of black power movement, but then he wasn't. No, after standing up to a white supremacist who was invited to speak to his class--who, for inexplicable reasons, is not named in the text, because protecting bigots is a worthwhile venture, while using both the first and last names of people who 'betrayed' Mary Catherine by leaving AVID is cool--Clarence has to confront his peers from his zone school in the city championship football game. Some of the people from his neighborhood call him out for choosing to go to a richer, whiter, high school, but none of them are doing anything that an average sports fan wouldn't do. This is not black supremacy, and to juxtapose regular rivalry behavior with white supremacy is frankly insulting. But Freedman doesn't seem to have any appreciation that he uses race like this all the time. In the white supremacy chapter he injected a nameless, faceless, track coach who was simmering with so much anger he couldn't speak, but who congratulates Clarence afterward for his cool-headed take-down of the visitor. Clarence, who runs track and therefore should know the coach, betrays no other relationship with this character. He's just the foil to Clarence's AVID-honed calm. We also get nameless minority students at every student forum, and the only character we follow who quits AVID is depicted as an angry black girl. Further, since Mary Catherine lost touch with Berenice prior to senior year, that character is completely a composite of Freedman's imagination and 3rd party recollections. Seriously.
I initially cut Freedman a lot of slack by telling myself that the book was just showing its dated-ness, but as he just kept doubling down, I couldn't take it anymore. The feel-good anecdotes about Mary Catherine overcoming all roadblocks, despite the odds!, and due to some amazing connections, serendipity & personal wealth, are balanced up against students who really are overcoming amazing roadblocks despite structural inequality. Despite being told over and over again that AVID is all about these kids, they virtually drop out of the book for over 100 pages as we get regaled with yet more accolades and anecdotes about Mary Catherine.
Mary Catherine worries about her personality eclipsing AVID, and in this book, it literally does.
This isn't really the story of AVID. It's the story of Mary Catherine Swanson, and therefore a story where AVID is described. I almost put it down for good when, on pg. 196 of 409--in a book about empowering under-served students--a tutor is described as having the following internal monologue about a reporter who is attempting to create a tempest in a teapot, "Guilt gave way to rage. You scum bag! She wanted to strangle the reporter, tie his belt around his neck and lynch him from the flagpole." WTF! Wanting to strangle someone who's wronged you? OK. That happens. Wanting to lynch someone? FROM A FLAGPOLE!?!?! Who the hell are we? The KKK? Now, these are Freedman's words put into this tutor's head, but I'm supposed to find her to be one of the most sympathetic people in the book, and all I can think is, "You think it's OK to lynch people" when her name comes up from that point forward.
It's the most immediate example of Freedman's oblivious-whiteness in the book, one which literally made me hurl the book to the floor of the car in disgust, but it's far from his only moment of white savior worship. The most glaring example of that is the first chapter of Part 4: One to the Power of Four, "A Day in Hell." Mary Catherine's day in hell is having two people quit her organization "without even telling her that they're sorry" (seriously, that's a quote) for higher paying, higher profile jobs. These people who lack "loyalty" are juxtaposed against the wife of Mary Catherine's former gardener, who is standing by her husband who recently suffered a debilitating injury during a surgery that Mary Catherine assisted in paying for when the "other gringos" forgot him (seriously, that's also a line from the book). I'm sorry, was Filomela offered a better paying job as a wife elsewhere? I'm not aware that that's a thing. Note, this is the first and last time we hear of these characters. Their entire purpose is to convince us that Mary Catherine is a good-white-person who pays for things that Medicare won't, and that she understands staying on mission better than those "greedy" career-climbers. This is not a crusade! People have a right to leave their jobs, and even to be excited about it! Freedman's construction of Mary Catherine as both white savior and white martyr is especially complete in this chapter.
The most glaring example of Freedman's non-understanding of race came a few chapters prior to the lynching comment, though, when he decided to juxtapose standing up to white supremacy to standing up to black supremacy, which would be possible, if the teenager in question were standing up to any kind of black power movement, but then he wasn't. No, after standing up to a white supremacist who was invited to speak to his class--who, for inexplicable reasons, is not named in the text, because protecting bigots is a worthwhile venture, while using both the first and last names of people who 'betrayed' Mary Catherine by leaving AVID is cool--Clarence has to confront his peers from his zone school in the city championship football game. Some of the people from his neighborhood call him out for choosing to go to a richer, whiter, high school, but none of them are doing anything that an average sports fan wouldn't do. This is not black supremacy, and to juxtapose regular rivalry behavior with white supremacy is frankly insulting. But Freedman doesn't seem to have any appreciation that he uses race like this all the time. In the white supremacy chapter he injected a nameless, faceless, track coach who was simmering with so much anger he couldn't speak, but who congratulates Clarence afterward for his cool-headed take-down of the visitor. Clarence, who runs track and therefore should know the coach, betrays no other relationship with this character. He's just the foil to Clarence's AVID-honed calm. We also get nameless minority students at every student forum, and the only character we follow who quits AVID is depicted as an angry black girl. Further, since Mary Catherine lost touch with Berenice prior to senior year, that character is completely a composite of Freedman's imagination and 3rd party recollections. Seriously.
I initially cut Freedman a lot of slack by telling myself that the book was just showing its dated-ness, but as he just kept doubling down, I couldn't take it anymore. The feel-good anecdotes about Mary Catherine overcoming all roadblocks, despite the odds!, and due to some amazing connections, serendipity & personal wealth, are balanced up against students who really are overcoming amazing roadblocks despite structural inequality. Despite being told over and over again that AVID is all about these kids, they virtually drop out of the book for over 100 pages as we get regaled with yet more accolades and anecdotes about Mary Catherine.
Mary Catherine worries about her personality eclipsing AVID, and in this book, it literally does.
February 18, 2010
Background & origin of AVID program; inspirational & informative.
August 20, 2020
Loved if, mostly because I love AVID and learning about it was intriguing.
February 9, 2025
Too much for me
June 12, 2013
This book has something important to say about education, which is that high academic standards combined with committed support from teachers and the community is necessary to produce successful and educated people. Also that students can excel regardless of their background or supposed intelligence. That being said, this fictionalized account of the creation of the AVID(Advancement Via Individual Determination) program is fraught with enough awkward metaphors, absurd melodrama, and one - dimensional caricatures of human beings to make one nauseous at times.
July 16, 2007
The first half is great -- and then it sort of peters out and becomes bogged down in the details of this teacher's life and the administrive process of getting AVID in schools. The writing is a little doofy, too -- the author is a little too fond of cheesy metaphors that he invariably stretches too far. But I did love the first half -- where it talks about the AVID classroom and the students. So I'd recommend it for that.
June 27, 2013
LOVED IT!
maybe it is because i am a teacher and this book is inspiring.
maybe it is because this book is well written, though this is a nonfiction book, it reads like fiction.
maybe it is because the students and teachers stories/journies in tis book are incredible.
whatever the reason, i truly enjoyed this book and inspired to be the best teacher/tutor i can be.
maybe it is because i am a teacher and this book is inspiring.
maybe it is because this book is well written, though this is a nonfiction book, it reads like fiction.
maybe it is because the students and teachers stories/journies in tis book are incredible.
whatever the reason, i truly enjoyed this book and inspired to be the best teacher/tutor i can be.
February 15, 2016
This has become one of my top favorite books. It may not be for all, but for people like me who aspire to be a teacher, this will be a must to read. It inspired me and changed my perspective in teaching. I will definitely read this again. So much that I learned from it and will apply for my future.
January 21, 2016
Outstanding teachers truly make a difference! Mary Catherine Swanson took it further, recognizing that the whole structure of education had to change. Higher standards demanded by society truly means more support from teachers. Schools are no longer the gatekeeper of student's dreams, they open the gate to possibilities!
February 13, 2013
The book covers the inception of the AVID program which is now used across the country. I found it inspiring and moving and I think it's a tribute to "the power of one" to empower many.
It's a must read for anyone who is an educator.
It's a must read for anyone who is an educator.
May 14, 2012
Mandatory reading for all teachers.
July 1, 2016
Loved if, mostly because I love AVID and learning about it was intriguing.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews