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The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys
Empower black boys to dream, believe, achieve
Schools that routinely fail Black boys are not extraordinary. In fact, they are all too ordinary. If we are to succeed in positively shifting outcomes for Black boys and young men, we must first change the way school is "done." That’s where the eight in ten teachers who are White women fit in . . . and this urgently needed resource is written specifically for them as a way to help them understand, respect and connect with all of their students.
So much more than a call to call to action―but that, too!― The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys brings together research, activities, personal stories, and video interviews to help us all embrace the deep realities and thrilling potential of this crucial American task. With Eddie, Ali, and Marguerite as your mentors, you will learn how to: If you are a teacher who is afraid to talk about race, that’s okay. Fear is a normal human emotion and racial competence is a skill that can be learned. We promise that reading this extraordinary guide will be a life changing first step forward . . . for both you and the students you serve.
About the Authors
Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. , has pursued and achieved success in academia, business, diversity, leadership, and community service. In 1996, he started America & MOORE, LLC to provide comprehensive diversity, privilege, and leadership trainings/workshops. Dr. Moore is recognized as one of the nation’s top motivational speakers and educators, especially for his work with students K–16. Dr. Moore is the Founder/Program Director for the White Privilege Conference, one of the top national and international conferences for participants who want to move beyond dialogue and into action around issues of diversity, power, privilege, and leadership.
Ali Michael, Ph.D. , is the co founder and director of the Race Institute for K–12 Educators, and the author of Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry, and Education , winner of the 2017 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award. She is co editor of the bestselling Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice and sits on the editorial board of the journal, Whiteness and Education . Dr. Michael teaches in the mid career doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, as well as the Graduate Counseling Program at Arcadia University.
Dr. Marguerite W. Penick Parks currently serves as Chair of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Her work centers on issues of power, privilege, and oppression in relationship to issues of curriculum with a special emphasis on the incorporation of quality literature in K–12 classrooms. She appears in the movie, "Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible," by the World Trust Organization. Her most recent work includes a joint article on creating safe spaces for discussing White privilege with preservice teachers.
Schools that routinely fail Black boys are not extraordinary. In fact, they are all too ordinary. If we are to succeed in positively shifting outcomes for Black boys and young men, we must first change the way school is "done." That’s where the eight in ten teachers who are White women fit in . . . and this urgently needed resource is written specifically for them as a way to help them understand, respect and connect with all of their students.
So much more than a call to call to action―but that, too!― The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys brings together research, activities, personal stories, and video interviews to help us all embrace the deep realities and thrilling potential of this crucial American task. With Eddie, Ali, and Marguerite as your mentors, you will learn how to: If you are a teacher who is afraid to talk about race, that’s okay. Fear is a normal human emotion and racial competence is a skill that can be learned. We promise that reading this extraordinary guide will be a life changing first step forward . . . for both you and the students you serve.
About the Authors
Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. , has pursued and achieved success in academia, business, diversity, leadership, and community service. In 1996, he started America & MOORE, LLC to provide comprehensive diversity, privilege, and leadership trainings/workshops. Dr. Moore is recognized as one of the nation’s top motivational speakers and educators, especially for his work with students K–16. Dr. Moore is the Founder/Program Director for the White Privilege Conference, one of the top national and international conferences for participants who want to move beyond dialogue and into action around issues of diversity, power, privilege, and leadership.
Ali Michael, Ph.D. , is the co founder and director of the Race Institute for K–12 Educators, and the author of Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry, and Education , winner of the 2017 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award. She is co editor of the bestselling Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice and sits on the editorial board of the journal, Whiteness and Education . Dr. Michael teaches in the mid career doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, as well as the Graduate Counseling Program at Arcadia University.
Dr. Marguerite W. Penick Parks currently serves as Chair of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Her work centers on issues of power, privilege, and oppression in relationship to issues of curriculum with a special emphasis on the incorporation of quality literature in K–12 classrooms. She appears in the movie, "Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible," by the World Trust Organization. Her most recent work includes a joint article on creating safe spaces for discussing White privilege with preservice teachers.
472 pages, Paperback
Published October 25, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
August 7, 2018
I will be sharing this book with as many colleagues as possible! I have at least 10 chapters bookmarked to share for Professional Development already.
March 12, 2020
This book is exactly what it says it is...a guide. It was hard to read it cover to cover because there’s so much information in it. I bought a paper copy to keep at work and refer to as needed. It’s extremely comprehensive and packed with great ideas and perspectives and strategies.
December 19, 2022
A must read for White teachers looking to challenge themselves and their practice. Great information, language, and strategies to try in the classroom.
July 30, 2020
I took my time with this one as there were several activities and calls to reflection throughout the book. Overall, this is a practical collection of articles and book chapters/excerpts aimed at helping white women (who make up the majority of K-12 public educators) better serve their Black boy students (the lowest achieving demographic). I learned a lot, and in particular will be paying attention to how subtle changes in my wording and phrasing when speaking to my Black boy students and their families can have positive effects.
February 15, 2022
Really great reference book for White women in education. While the book focuses 98% on K-12, understanding that landscape for Black boys is very helpful in supporting Black men in college. I borrowed this book from the library, but want to have a copy for my office for reference. The book alludes to The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Girls, which I'll readily pick up whenever it comes out.
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November 30, 2020This is more of a text book, but I was impressed in it's scope. I read this for a cohort on antiracism and it was a great conversation starter. I would recommend this for any educator dedicated to anti-racist teaching.
July 27, 2018
I have some mixed feeling about this book. I thought some of the chapters were very helpful such as the chapter on Verve and Blooms Banks Matrix.
I tend to have a lot of books I want to read during the summer to up my teacher game. There were a lot of stories and the book was really repetitive. They could have cut out about 1/2 of the book and I would have received the same information. Also, I really wished the book had more action steps for teachers rather than a laundry list of other recommended books to read.
I was also frustrated with some of the cited resources that dated back to when I was born. For a book to be printed recently I felt like a lot of the research should also have been recent.
I tried to get a free copy of a book promised on one of the pages and never received an e-mail back regarding my inquiry.
Was it worth the read in the end? Yes, those few chapters that gave me a lot to think about and take action on to be a better teacher for my students were worth it.
I tend to have a lot of books I want to read during the summer to up my teacher game. There were a lot of stories and the book was really repetitive. They could have cut out about 1/2 of the book and I would have received the same information. Also, I really wished the book had more action steps for teachers rather than a laundry list of other recommended books to read.
I was also frustrated with some of the cited resources that dated back to when I was born. For a book to be printed recently I felt like a lot of the research should also have been recent.
I tried to get a free copy of a book promised on one of the pages and never received an e-mail back regarding my inquiry.
Was it worth the read in the end? Yes, those few chapters that gave me a lot to think about and take action on to be a better teacher for my students were worth it.
August 3, 2018
A fantastic resource and guide fully of practical advice as well as powerful stories. This book affirms the key things I know about good teaching:
Relationships are key
You teach who you are, so you have to know yourself, including your biases and blindspots to be effective
Kids need both windows and mirrors to learn
When a kid isn't succeeding, first ask how the system is failing the child, not the other way around.
A few of the book's key points struck me because I hadn't thought much about them before:
Schools are full of white norms, white ways of doing things. Kids who grow up in different cultural systems with different norms are seen as being deficit. Schools need to shift their norms about what "doing school" looks like so it is not Euro-centric.
There was a great chapter about a model that combines Bloom's taxonomy with another educator's model for multicultural teaching. I want to dig into this more.
Relationships are key
You teach who you are, so you have to know yourself, including your biases and blindspots to be effective
Kids need both windows and mirrors to learn
When a kid isn't succeeding, first ask how the system is failing the child, not the other way around.
A few of the book's key points struck me because I hadn't thought much about them before:
Schools are full of white norms, white ways of doing things. Kids who grow up in different cultural systems with different norms are seen as being deficit. Schools need to shift their norms about what "doing school" looks like so it is not Euro-centric.
There was a great chapter about a model that combines Bloom's taxonomy with another educator's model for multicultural teaching. I want to dig into this more.
May 2, 2018
Some of the chapters were excellent-- the Bloom-Banks Matrix and the Stages of White Racial Identity were probably the concepts that I have thought about the most since completing the book and would recommend everyone to investigate. In other places, it became somewhat repetitive and was not focused enough on specific actions to be taken. Reading this book was a start, but since I picked up the book, I did know a lot of what was being offered-- I kind of wanted more ideas on how to change.
February 6, 2019
Overall, this is definitely a resource worth having. Some of the chapters were excellent, but the book as a whole is a mixed bag and could have used more editing. I read the book cover to cover so that I would be familiar with every article and be able to recommend sections to people, but I would not suggest reading every piece in the book.
April 28, 2020
Every educator who is a white woman should read this book. White men would also benefit GREATLY... the reason it is specifically geared towards women is the complicated and heavy history of WW and black boys, but I truly believe any white educator can take away so much from this guide. Each chapter is written by a different author, so there are many different voices sharing similar messages for WW to consider, which really sends it home. I did so much reflection and immediately integrated my learnings into my day-to-day work with my black students. One or two chapters a week was ideal to properly integrate everything into my teaching and to properly digest to its fullest capacity, so it took me several months to finish this one and I loved every moment. I have a completely different outlook on my teaching now and feel prepared to fully advocate for my students of color.
If anyone ever gets the opportunity to see the great Eddie Moore speak, do anything it takes to get there! The man is a powerhouse and does not hold back! I saw him at an anti-racism conference in Mpls, which is where I picked up this book.
If anyone ever gets the opportunity to see the great Eddie Moore speak, do anything it takes to get there! The man is a powerhouse and does not hold back! I saw him at an anti-racism conference in Mpls, which is where I picked up this book.
January 4, 2022
Can I make this 6 stars? What an eye opening book. I thought I was pretty aware of issues around multiculturalism. I thought I knew how to support black boys and, to some extent, I do. However, I learned SO MUCH!!! As a white woman, I know how white culture works. I found that I don't know how black culture works. Writing that seems to be such a duh! moment, but there you are. I know I do a good job a creating relationships and encouraging black boys, which is a key recommendation. I didn't understand that part of the black boys' community norms is being boisterous, active and physical (even just touching). I need to ask more questions and, especially with young children, be more understanding that our sedentary mode of teaching may be more difficult for them. I need to understand that clothing, demeanor and attitude may be more of a charade to keep them safe than anything else, that I need to support them but also push them, a lot. Its not just for teachers of black boys; in many respects for teachers of any diverse group of children. It's a must read if you teach.
December 29, 2017
Interesting read - lots of vignettes from multiple perspectives. Bottom line - if some book/idea/thought/perspective makes a better teacher out of me, it's worth the time. Meeting the needs of any subgroup of students will enhance the education of all students in my class. Building relationships with students and families was a key take-away for me. Of course, this pedagogy not only benefits black students (boys in particular), but all students. Thankful to the authors for sharing their experiences and their expertise. While reading I was, at times, overwhelmed with a great sense of inadequacy to accomplish equity in the classroom. I would like to have had more stories of success and hope. I appreciate that the authors gave many specifics for the classroom teacher. "..but with God, all things are possible."
May 5, 2023
This book was so helpful and included information about how to effectively reflect on personal implicit biases, how to properly fulfill the role of a good teacher, and strategies for talking about race and developing connections with students, families, and community.
I learned so much from this book. I had the opportunity to acknowledge my own thought patterns about systemic racism and educational barriers that could negatively affect my Black boy students. I learned how to talk about race in a positive way, share our cultures, and set high expectations by using the "warm demander" method. This is a must-read for all white female teachers!
I learned so much from this book. I had the opportunity to acknowledge my own thought patterns about systemic racism and educational barriers that could negatively affect my Black boy students. I learned how to talk about race in a positive way, share our cultures, and set high expectations by using the "warm demander" method. This is a must-read for all white female teachers!
January 18, 2020
I read this book for a book study through my school district and honestly, it’s one of the best books I’ve ever done for a book study. It is well-written and has some concrete information and thoughts about what is happening in our school systems to Black boys and about moving forward. I really liked how the chapters were organized and it was easy to read. We often were assigned to read 3 chapters at a time and I felt like this was easy to do as the chapters aren’t very long. Anyone looking to become a teacher or that is currently a teacher or works in education should read this book.
July 4, 2020
The sheer specificity of this title was intimidating to me, but when it kept showing up on reading lists for antiracist educators I went ahead and ordered it. WOW. This volume masterfully weaves together articles, essays, and perspectives which dive into the particular dynamics -- power, relational, cultural, and otherwise -- which consciously and unconsciously determine teacher and student success. It's the 201 material on race and education I've been craving, and I know I'll keep circling back to it.
October 23, 2020
Around 80% of teachers in the United States are white women. Years ago I was one of them,eager to do right by my black, brown, Native students. I was so well intentioned and so naive. I wish this type of resource existed then. I read it now to add to the many perspectives I’m absorbing to better understand and challenge my white privilege. Any white person working with black children should read this book. I am astounded by the amount of resources now available to combat white supremacy and how few white people are seeking them
December 19, 2019
I read this for a book study this fall, and it was one of the best book studies I have ever done. Chapters were well-organized and to the point, giving teachers both strategies that we can start using today and broad ideas to begin thinking about and looking for as we continue the work of dismantling the racism that is still so present in our society. Apparently there's a sequel coming? If you're a teacher, you should read this.
November 2, 2020
I did this book a disservice by waiting so long to write the review.
I took approximately 2 months to work my way through this book. Its short chapters lend itself well to chunked reading which I found manageable to work into my jam-packed school year schedule.
The authors listed on the front cover actually serve as editors of a large compilation of other authors who deal with a tremendous range of topics, all critical to understand, reflect upon, and act about.
I highly recommend this book.
I took approximately 2 months to work my way through this book. Its short chapters lend itself well to chunked reading which I found manageable to work into my jam-packed school year schedule.
The authors listed on the front cover actually serve as editors of a large compilation of other authors who deal with a tremendous range of topics, all critical to understand, reflect upon, and act about.
I highly recommend this book.
June 14, 2020
Absolutely a must read for students in teacher education programs - and all current teachers - particularly if you fall into that 65% (or greater) demographic of self-identifying as a white woman teacher - and ESPECIALLY if your own K-12 background was one of attending school with a majority of other students and teachers who had white skin like you.
March 4, 2022
Any one who wants to be a teacher should read this. It talks about how to be better teacher and systematic problems of racism.
additionally I enjoyed the discussion of racial identity develop that all people experience.
This book was written by three main authors representing multiple sex and ethnic backgrounds.
The book also included vignettes which were a beautiful addition to the book!
additionally I enjoyed the discussion of racial identity develop that all people experience.
This book was written by three main authors representing multiple sex and ethnic backgrounds.
The book also included vignettes which were a beautiful addition to the book!
December 4, 2018
ANY ONE IN EDUCATION MUST READ THIS BOOK! This book should be added to the undergrad textbook lists for professors to assign to their students. There are so many stories, facts, research, strategies that help us teach our Black boy students.
July 7, 2018
Pieces of this were more helpful than others, but overall recommended for the target audience.
September 11, 2018
Great read for anyone, and especially for teachers. Each article is separate and can be read over time as you digest what you have read.
September 11, 2018
An excellent resource for those wanting to challenge their mindset and check their biases. It presents information in a straightforward way and lends itself well to discussion.
July 25, 2019
A great reference book with short, (mostly) easy to read and helpful chapters.
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November 16, 2019This is a thought provoking and important read for an white woman who teaches Black boys.
February 4, 2020
Verve, Bloom-Banks Matrix, Stages of White Racial Identity, so powerful.
May 11, 2020
Every teacher should read this book. It was phenomenal! Can’t wait to share it with my coworkers!
May 29, 2020
A must read for every white female educator.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews