WINNER OF THE NAME 2005 PHILLIP C. CHINN MULTICULTURAL BOOK AWARD! Written by a powerful new voice in the field of multicultural education, Rosa Hernandez Sheets draws from her extensive teaching experience in urban schools to examine the learning issues of diverse student populations from pre-school to high school. The first in its field to demonstrate and explicate the interconnectedness of culture and cognition to the teaching-learning process, Diversity Examining The Role Of Culture In The Teaching-Learning Process promotes successful services for more students, especially those from underserved communities. This text introduces a new theory–diversity pedagogy–constructs explicit applications to practice by providing examples of real-life classroom situations throughout, ultimately uniting schooling, culture, and psychology.
This amazing book is definitely going to have a positive impact on my teaching. I'm already planning how to implements some changes I want to make, particularly in my lower-level reading classes. I'm never parting with this book.
One criticism: Sheets, as seem to be the case with many doctoral researchers in education, seems to think it's emotionally, socially, or professionally healthy to spend 12 hours a day and weekends working with students. Teachers need a life outside of school, or they burn out. Sheets might dedicate her life to her students, but most teachers want to go to work and then dedicate the rest of their time to family and friends, which is the healthier option. New teachers: Look at this book for strategies to help you be a better teacher, but don't overdo it. You need to take care of yourself, or you won't be teaching anyone.
This book is still really expensive, even though it is a decade old. It doesn't add much to the multicultural education conversation; everything in this book can be found in other multicultural Ed books.