Growing Up White: A Veteran Teacher Reflects on Racism

by Julie Landsman

Growing Up White is for everyone who wants to know more about our schools, our community, our country, and ourselves. Julie Landsman takes the reader on an inventory of her life, pulling from events and scenes, a set of lessons learned. She discloses honestly and unflinchingly the privileges she has experienced as a white person and connects those to her presence in city classrooms where she taught for over 25 years.

As a teacher Julie made mistakes, learned from them, made more and concludes that understanding race in America is an ongoing process. Her book is rich with suggestions for working in our schools today, where we find a primarily white teaching force and an expanding population of students of color. She believes that these students make our schools rich and exciting places in which to work. Landsman also believes that white teachers can reach their students in deep and positive ways. Because she invites you to go along with her in revealing the basis of her upbringing and her choices, the story itself is engaging. Readers arrive at the final chapters with an appreciation not only for the complexity of our history as individuals around race, gender and class but with real hope in education as a way to create a place where all children get a fair chance at success.

Julie can be reached at jlandsman@goldengate.net.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Diane Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very insightful book about race from the perspective of an educator (white) - reflecting on race dynamics in the classroom, society at large and unpacking white privilege. Authentic experience and deep reflection was deeply rewarding to engage with on these pages

[Kati Higginbotham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggle with rating this book. It’s just that it’s kind of.... strange. The reflexively of the beginning of the book gets lost in the middle. I think it would be a better book if she had reflected on her whiteness throughout the book. What did being white bring to her struggle in the Civil Rights Movement? Important but could be better.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really moving account that moves back and forth between Landsman's life and the classroom. This one includes references to her college years in the Civil Rights movement as well as her recent travels to Nepal. (I really liked her previous book _A White Teacher Talks about Race_ as well as this one!). This movement between the autobiographical and the classroom is very effective and powerful. As she puts it--if she, as an upper-class white woman can connect with kids in diverse classrooms--anyone can do it, but they have to be willing to listen and understand institutional racism. Good good book! Highly recommended for teachers!

[Mansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

my aunt wrote this book
i have it sighned by her
SWEET

[Nancy Stier]

Thinking this is the wrong author