Fall Book Selection

We are excited about the fall semester and will be sending an official welcome and overview to you soon. For now, we would like to tell you about your options for our Fall semester book so that you can get started. Though we enjoyed the collective experience of reading Cosmos in the summer, we realize that each of your interests may be different when considering some of the social and cultural challenges faced while teaching in urban settings. To this end, please read these quick descriptions, gain access to the book of your choosing, and start reading. Consider tweeting out to the #MSUrbanSTEM hashtag the book that you’ve chosen. Happy Reading!
 
by Gloria Ladson-Billings
In this book, Gloria Ladson-Billings shares the experiences of eight exceptional teachers for African American children. She recounts stories from both their classrooms and her own school experiences and she develops the framework for culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP). The narratives help teachers understand that there is not one correct way to be a culturally relevant teacher, but that there are several components of CRP that all teachers have the capacity to build and make a part of their practice. Much of what she describes goes well beyond practices that help African American children, but can be translated to benefit all of the children in a teacher’s care.
 
by Jane Margolis
In Stuck in the Shallow End, Margolis deals with the issues regarding low numbers of underrepresented minority students advancing and succeeding in computer science. She tells the story of agency and access that students have to computer science curriculum in three different Los Angeles Public High Schools to establish the ways in which schools may or may not be contributing to the phenomenon. She looks at how schools, teacher beliefs about students, and students beliefs about themselves play a role in the creation of inequitable outcomes in computer science and offers suggestions for ways that changes could be made so that all students have the opportunity to pursue computer science if they so choose.
 
by Anna Ershler Richert
Through compelling stories, Anna Ershler Richert gives merit to the true dilemmas of teaching in an urban context and empowers teachers. She helps teachers to see the kinds of dilemmas they might face, characterize them, and helps them to think about the ways in which they can support their students under difficult circumstances. Though some of it is aimed at those just entering into the teaching profession, it is rich with insight for those who have been in the field and working with students for many years.
 
More to come soon!
The MSUrbanSTEM Team