Teaching for Black Lives

by Dyan Watson (Editor), Jesse Hagopian (Editor), Wayne Au (Editor)

Black students' minds and bodies are under attack. We're fighting back.

"Again the folks at Rethinking Schools have stepped out to produce a timely volume that should become a central staple in how we understand race and the radical imaginary in K-12 classrooms. The heft and depth of Teaching for Black Lives stands as a revolutionary tool in the resistance against racist, fascist, white nationalist ideology in education." - David Stovall, Professor of African American Studies and Educational Policy Studies, University of Illinois Chicago.

CONTENTS

Section 1 — Making Black Lives Matter in Our Schools
Section 2 — Enslavement, Civil Rights, and Black Liberation
Section 3 — Gentrification, Displacement, and Anti-Blackness
Section 4 — Discipline, the Schools-to-Prison Pipeline, and Mass Incarceration
Section 5 — Teaching Blackness, Loving Blackness, and Exploring Identity

Genres: Education, Teaching, Race, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Social Justice, History

368 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2018

Reviews

[Stephanie Biese · Rating 5 out of 5]

6+ stars. Every teacher should read.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I’m finally finding all the resources I’ve been looking for as a new educator who truly wants to be a part of the change. As I continue to learn about being an educator I want my whole stance and framework to focus on the importance of multicultural education and culturally responsive teaching.

THIS BOOK IS A HUGE RESOURCE.

Every teacher should be required to read this.

[Sophia Scoppettone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every teacher should read this book. That being said, I was a little disappointed that the majority of the articles focused on secondary education. The article I found the most useful as an Elementary teacher was “Brown Kids Can’t be in Our Club” by Rita Tenorio. This article gave a lot of practical advice for Elementary teachers.

[Lindsay Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Educator HAS to read this book!

[Mits · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of essays gave me a lot of ideas about how to be a better teacher to not only black students, but all students. Essays ranged from specific strategies and lesson ideas to use in the classroom, to how to better understand racial dynamics in schools, to the nationwide context of race relations and racism. As a science teacher, my only complaint is that there was not more about teaching about race and teaching black students in the science classroom. While I gained many ideas from essays about English and social science, there were only a few essays specifically about science.

[Cristi Julsrud · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a resource! This book was chock-full of inspiration for lessons, thought-provoking articles, and general awesomeness. My kids are already reaping the benefits as I've already implemented a few lessons and readings from this text. A must-have for any classroom!

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful layout and invaluable content.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for EVERY educator

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic resource, recommended to any teacher looking to dismantle white supremacy and promote anti-racist work in their classrooms and communities (should be every teacher!). Teaching For Black Lives is a collection of dozens of essays, letters, and lesson plans from a wide variety of teachers. I was impressed and inspired by the depth of lessons but also how deftly they incorporated these topics into math, science, preschool, art, not just the language arts courses one may expect. I found myself learning new bits of history and viewpoints with each section, things so crucial for us educators tasked with guiding and understanding so many students.

Will be passing this one around my team for sure!

[Alisun Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Integrating history, theory, policy, and practice Teaching for Black Lives is a comprehensive and diverse compilation. Like all Rethinking Schools resources, it unapologetically centers classroom practice. We assign this book as a core text in our teacher preparation program and it’s assigned across classes — methods, theory, and practicum.

[Ashli Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lead a book club at my school and we read this amazing book. It sparked great social justice conversations and helped us to think about the programming and changes that we want to implement at our school. I love how the book ends with Black Joy because it reminds me that although so much needs to be done, we must continue onward!

[Nickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable and informative book. This is an excellent choice for teachers trying to make a difference in students of color lives. Anyone wanting to improve their practice around equitable teaching.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is definitely aimed more at high school teachers, I learned a lot of history from those sections. There were a few sections at the end which really helped me consider how I can teach in a way that helps elementary students appreciate different skin tones and Black history.

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for all educators.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible resource for teachers- must read!

[Chris O'byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential for every teacher. very practical

[Robynmwhite · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book!!! I loved the essay format and have now subscribed to their magazine.

[Nathan Moldenhauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Really gives a lot of great resources for teachers to use. I will continue to come back to this book.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some ideas that challenge the status quo but not a book you can teach from. I was hoping this would have easy to read lesson plans and it did not.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the variety of classroom stories and examples. The authors are all reflective and present such engaging ideas for truly engaging Black literature, history, art, beauty, and joy.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Open my eyes to some things I wasn't aware of.

[Jackalacka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting that so many authors are from PDX. Cool. I found a lot of inspiration. Lots of ideas.

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource for educators who are looking to examine how systemic racism is ingrained into the education system, and how they can integrate anti-racist education into their teaching.

[George Kasnic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buy it, read it, implement it in your classroom. Get your school to acquire multiple copies for your pd library.

[Christin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book and plan on purchasing it for my library.

[Lanni Maszerowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down the best resource for educators I have read recently! This book is a collection of essays from a variety of authors that was born out of the movement for Black lives. As the editors write, “Black students' minds and bodies are under attack. We're fighting back.”