New at the Library

Description: This important volume brings together key writings from one of the most influential education scholars of our time. In this collection of her seminal essays on critical race theory (CRT), Gloria Ladson-Billings seeks to clear up some of the confusion and misconceptions that education researchers have around race and inequality. Beginning with her groundbreaking work with William Tate in the mid-1990s up to the present day, this book discloses both a personal and intellectual history of CRT in education. The essays are divided into three areas: Critical Race Theory, Issues of Inequality, and Epistemology and Methodologies. Ladson-Billings ends with a postscript that looks back at her journey and considers what is on the horizon for other scholars of education. Having these widely cited essays in one volume will be invaluable to everyone interested in understanding how inequality operates in our society and how race affects educational outcomes. (publ.)

Reviewed: CHE 7 Sept. 2021 (online; excerpt)
Description: In 2009, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was on top of the world. In the all-important athletic realm, the Tar Heels were the Coca-Cola of athletic brands. Resting upon the legacy of legendary basketball coach Dean Smith, UNC had carved out a reputation of excellence paired with squeaky-clean adherence to the rules. Supporters had a name for that irresistible ethos: the Carolina Way. The Tar Heels were climbing even higher. That year, they won their fifth national championship in men’s basketball and looked poised to climb the ranks in football under a new, high-powered coach. But within just a few years, it all came crashing down. The Tar Heels’ success, it turned out, was based on a foundation of deceit. Athletes were flocking to a slate of fake classes that advisers deftly used to keep them eligible to play. That revelation and others metastasized into one of the most damaging scandals ever to visit an American college. Journalist Andy Thomason provides a gripping and authoritative retelling of the scandal through the eyes of four of its key participants: the secretary who presided over the fake classes, the professor who directed players toward them, the literacy specialist turned whistleblower who sought to expose the system, and the chancellor who found his career suddenly on the line. The narrative reveals the toll of a college’s investment in major sports, and the amateurism myth upon which it is based. Based on dozens of original interviews and thousands of pages of documents, Thomason demonstrates just how far a university will go to preserve the athletic status quo.

With the 2020 closing of schools, libraries, playgrounds, etc children have been forced to spend a lot of time at home.This has left parents trying to juggle their own schedules to provide educational opportunities for them so that they will not fall too far "behind". This book of resource materials for parents of elementary and middle school children is not intended to replace or be a substitute for the standard curriculum of the grades. It offers parents resources that promote and engage children's thinking across various curriculum areas - critical thinking tools that can serve children at whatever grade level and give them a leg up to deal with whatever they will face. This book is a valuable asset to parents and caregivers that will provide some much needed help and information..

Drawing on decades of research and examples from their own practices, the authors provide best practices in race dialogue facilitation. Through concrete lesson plans and hands-on material, both experienced and novice facilitators can immediately use this inclusive and wide-ranging curriculum in a variety of classrooms, work spaces, and organizations with diverse participants.

Reviewed: CHE 10/19/2021 (online; referenced)
Description: How do we talk about Black history and racism in the United States on college campuses? In a series of essays, Professor Leonard Moore outlines how he has taught courses on African American history at colleges with a largely white student body. As an African American professor, he has had to find ways to teach to a diverse classroom, but one that is often dominated by white students with little prior knowledge of this history. Moore discusses how his love of history and drive to teach have emerged from his own experiences, and how those experiences have also shaped how he approaches the oft-challenging task of teaching history. He also discusses how racism and bias are ingrained in the African American experience throughout US history. (publ.) “Many of the white students who flock to Leonard N. Moore’s course on the history of the Black Power movement start the semester at the University of Texas at Austin saying they don’t see race. He makes sure that by the end of the semester, they do.” (CHE)