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Between the World and Me,
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Laura
Please do, I think it is very timely with what is happening in our country. It is an easy read, and I think will help your students gain some perspective on "black lives matter", and why that phrase is much more than "all lives matter".
Brent Forkner
Yes, you absolutely must consider this. And, as Gina says, you must also read it.
Mignon Ariel King
Yes. It's beautifully written and reads well as a young adults' intro to racism discussion prompt. It was not powerful and transcendent to me personally, but I am over 50 and went to a women's college; this struck me as a modern male perspective on topics Black feminists were writing about 30+years ago. (Most teens haven't read core feminist texts, so Coates' accessible style and the timeliness of the topic could have a huge impact on classroom discussions.)
Paul Frandano
I'd say, honors courses only. And prepare yourself for some arduous discussion. If your classes are mixed-race, you should have a particularly lively few days. If they're not, you should be prepared to play Devil's Advocate on the other side of majority arguments. You should also prep the deeper background of "plunder" and "destruction of the body" and the "Dreamers'" majority that Coates discusses but details elsewhere. You might consider taking as a guideline John Hope Franklin's sense (and Coate's as well, but, unlike Franklin, without a trace of optimism that this might actually happen) that (and I paraphrase), "until we have a new history we cannot have a better future."
Sarah
YES. I just taught this book to 18-19 year olds who found it provocative and challenging but also were definitely able to make their way through it. It's also fantastic for getting students to think about how one book builds upon other literary works and sends its readers back to them--you can do a whole lesson on epigraphs that will lead you to poetry and to essay-writing.
Mackenzie Lopez
I'm going to say no. I think, for that age group, this book is too heavy to read. I'm reading it as a junior in college English major and struggling through it. For that age group, I'd recommend Freedom Writer's Diary. It deals with a lot of heavy issues, but racism is a big one. It is also written by teens in Long Beach, CA. This book is just really hard to read. Wither one, you may have to deal with parents wanting to censor it, but I feel like Freedom Writer's would benefit teens more than Through the World and Me.
Phil Morton
Yes, consider it for your students. Racism is here. It covers all of us, Black, and all the rest of us. For Black people I think it is a primer on how to survive, but I don't know enough to know if that's true. For the rest of us, it's a window into a world that's hard to imagine. These days there is not much in the book that's new, but the telling is compelling. It's the quality of the writing that affects me. Coates sure knows how to use words.
The bigger discussion that I miss is what justice is. Too much of our idea of justice is retributive, payback, revenge by society etc. I don't find that helpful. Some justice is intended to deter people for acting badly. Very little is aimed at moving anyone forward. Locking anyone up and throwing away 'the key perpetuates the fear that Coats articulates. 'Justice' is intended to break the spirit of the perpetrator. It's no surprise that no one wants to face any wrong-doing. As long as we divide people into good and bad we lose sight of a bigger way to look at ourselves and everyone else.
Writing as a White male I want to find a way that transcends that limited narrative. What if we can take a perspective that everyone is good, that there's no such thing as original sin.
(More to follow).
The bigger discussion that I miss is what justice is. Too much of our idea of justice is retributive, payback, revenge by society etc. I don't find that helpful. Some justice is intended to deter people for acting badly. Very little is aimed at moving anyone forward. Locking anyone up and throwing away 'the key perpetuates the fear that Coats articulates. 'Justice' is intended to break the spirit of the perpetrator. It's no surprise that no one wants to face any wrong-doing. As long as we divide people into good and bad we lose sight of a bigger way to look at ourselves and everyone else.
Writing as a White male I want to find a way that transcends that limited narrative. What if we can take a perspective that everyone is good, that there's no such thing as original sin.
(More to follow).
Dot
Definitely yes, it's perfect discussion material on what it means to be an American, or what is "the dream." I also started out disagreeing with the author, but I've never walked in his footsteps.
Katy Stanton
I would say yes, especially if they read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin first. Coates is a wonderful model of how students can be and become thinkers, readers, writers, and full participants in on-going discussions of race in America.
Mary Shelton
Please also assign Jacobs's very readable history, A Generation Removed: The Fostering and Adoption of Indigenous Children. It's a model of good writing, and it tells an important story that they've almost certainly never heard. Just learning about "the plight narrative" will make them better citizens. Of all the books I've read in the last few years, this was the best. It is to nonfiction what the Harry Potter series is to fiction.
I also recommend The Warmth of Other Suns.
I also recommend The Warmth of Other Suns.
Ladybug
I recommend "The Promised land" by Nikolas Lemann and "the warmth of other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson to be read before "Berween the Wolrd and me". The former offers a history of black plights focusing on the political failures of our country and the latter offers a detailed portrait of the fates and sufferings of three families during the great black migration period of last century. Both books will help to explain the situations African Americans are suffering and our society are facing today.
JT Hanzen
Young adults thrive on real challenge. Present this book to them and those whom cannot grasp it's deeper meaning in a greater context will feel compelled to stretch themselves to connect with others whom are welcoming them in, sharing it's meaning. That is the beauty of learning together as a class.
This is exactly how our Governments need to approach the general public as well. Administer respect by assuming competency, rather than it's reverse. That way the government is utilizing the full potential of the power of it's people that it serves. WE are amazing when backed by Knowledge and realization and response.
In this respect I have to disagree with the authors pessimistic and oppressed tone toward the end of the book. The power of LOVE must prevail in the face of adversity or all those whom have fought the good fight before have done so in vain. The author need to transfer some of the outrage that she has evoked within the reader to be the change that we want to see in the world. To know when to stand up AND when to sit down. To continue not just the STRUGGLE, but to celebrate the victories of our forefathers, our compatriots and the younger generations. This book needs more Humanitarianism in it's conclusion, and less preedjudice, which can snuff out the flame of any candle. A candle loses nothing by lighting another.
This is exactly how our Governments need to approach the general public as well. Administer respect by assuming competency, rather than it's reverse. That way the government is utilizing the full potential of the power of it's people that it serves. WE are amazing when backed by Knowledge and realization and response.
In this respect I have to disagree with the authors pessimistic and oppressed tone toward the end of the book. The power of LOVE must prevail in the face of adversity or all those whom have fought the good fight before have done so in vain. The author need to transfer some of the outrage that she has evoked within the reader to be the change that we want to see in the world. To know when to stand up AND when to sit down. To continue not just the STRUGGLE, but to celebrate the victories of our forefathers, our compatriots and the younger generations. This book needs more Humanitarianism in it's conclusion, and less preedjudice, which can snuff out the flame of any candle. A candle loses nothing by lighting another.
Blake
I think every sixteen year old in America should be asked to read this book.
Dawn
Absolutely. As a teacher of both Honors American Lit and AP English Lit and Comp, I am recommending it to all of my students.
Mike Horne
Though I found much to disagree with, I cannot think of a better book to give smart high school kids to read. I am going to suggest it to my students (I teach AP US History and they already write a 15 pager research paper so I cannot require it).
Gina
You should read it first. It's not very long.
Karen Cavalli
I second Laura Starks. Sixteen-18 year old years will appreciate the opening to the work in which the narrator is pulling no punches about the America he lives in. And he should not be: "always tell the truth," his tells his son, and Coates is a good role model. He tells the truth that a person of colors lives everyday in a way that makes it visceral; reading this will change the reader. Then the writing style changes a bit to a more accessible young man with opportunities, a young father, a young writer, and a young man in Paris, but all in the context, the reality of being black in America: you are under, as Coates says. I thought I knew so much when I started this book; then I realized I knew so little and had to reeducated and be horrified when I was done. How do you live with this? Keep reading until the end of Coates' book; he tells you how (and then start his novel Water Dancer...)
Kay
Yes. This book should be taught in a literature pedagogy as well as a must read in high school history classes nationwide.
Phoenix Robles
I'd say yes, this was a required reading text for a multi-concentration class at Rutgers University, this class intertwined Underclassmen, with Upperclassmen and Grad students.
The excerpts from this book alone drew necessary conversation between those from different, class, age, race, ability groups. I believe this is a realistic view of what students in this age range are faced with dealing with everyday, especially since technology moves this hate so very quickly. To have literature to allow your students to create dialogue of understanding is important.
The excerpts from this book alone drew necessary conversation between those from different, class, age, race, ability groups. I believe this is a realistic view of what students in this age range are faced with dealing with everyday, especially since technology moves this hate so very quickly. To have literature to allow your students to create dialogue of understanding is important.
Bridget
Definitely, a major statement of very bright African American journalist, born and raised in Baltimore, writing an extremely tender letter to his 15 year old son about the challenges of racism that still exist in our country, and the world.
Christa Sigman
Yes absolutely. I just finished it and am encouraging my husband and daughters to read it.
Mary Smathers
Absolutely. Excellent reading for that age group. I taught high school many years ago and would have loved the challenge and opportunity in teaching this book to my very diverse group of students. Go for it, Lin!
Absolutely. Excellent reading for that age group. I taught high school many years ago and would have loved the challenge and opportunity in teaching this book to my very diverse group of students. Go for it, Lin!
Rachel
Yes, you should.
Alice Davis
Please do. I think it should be required reading for high school strands--especially the advanced classes. Enjoy lively discussions as Coates opens their eyes to an understanding of racism.
Kathryn Mapes
This book is definitely accessible for your kind of audience. It makes a strong argument for black students attending Howard University rather than Ivy League schools. Since your students are presumably considering different colleges, this is one place where they might come to an understanding of why it is good to think through what kind of college one should attend. His experience growing up in Baltimore's streets is definitely one your students would be interested in, although I would argue that poor white students have some of the same experiences he entails including poverty and fear. He says that he wrote bad poetry, but his sentences are very poetic and should draw them in.
Emily
Yes--I'm studying to be a teacher myself, and it definitely struck me as a book worth teaching. Coates really explains things as they are, and the book is ripe for discussion. It's also extremely current, so it definitely has its finger on the public post. The language is perhaps not the most accessible for all readers (or, it's less the language and more that the organization is not as straight forward as some readers need/benefit from), though, which would be my only hesitancy for some levels, but for an advanced class, I'd say this is certainly a worthwhile book to teach.
On that note, anyone out there have any recommendations for similar works that are written more accessibly--for middle schoolers, for example?
On that note, anyone out there have any recommendations for similar works that are written more accessibly--for middle schoolers, for example?
Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)
If it helps, it's on our public library's suggested reading list at http://www.lexpublib.org/sites/defaul... for the April 2016 community read of "How it Went Down."
Jolie
Definitely! I have always been an avid reader from a young age however I am uncertain of the reading level of today's average teenager. They may have to look up a few words and the subject is intricate but even given that information I highly recommend this bopk!
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