Taking It Personally: Racism In Classroom From Kindergarten To College
Many readers will have difficulty appreciating a book that comes to the conclusion that "all white people are infected with racism." Relying heavily on opinion and often falling into overgeneralization, the authors (a university professor and an elementary school teacher) present a cautionary tale for teacher educators hoping to introduce their students to the tenets of "critical multiculturalism," i.e., an approach that "is structured to convey that the entire social order is shaped by institutions that tend to preserve and reproduce prevailing racial, gender, and class inequities." Hoping to find a place in the curriculum alongside the works of Jonathan Kozol (e.g., Savage Inequalities, LJ 9/15/91) and Lisa Delpit (Other People's Children, New Pr., 1995), the authors demonstrate that children of color are the victims of an institutionalized racism that affects the teaching they receive at every academic level. Unfortunately, this important message is obscured by the angry, self-righteous, and occasionally self-indulgent tone of this work. Recommended only for the most comprehensive academic collections related to multicultural education or teacher education. [With this title Temple University inaugurates their "Teaching and Learning Social Justice" series, which highlights educational practices that promote equality in multicultural societies. Ed.] Scott Walter, Washington State Univ., Pullman Fisher, Anne.- Scott Walter, Washington State Univ., Pullman Fisher, Anne.Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.