The Dreamkeepers Take Away

Hillary, Jessie, Iesha, Ashley and Steven.

Our Donovan brothers and sisters should take away many things from this book.

This book is mainly about "Cultural Relevant Teaching" practice. 

• These are covered through real-life examples rather than theory.
• This is a refreshing take on approaching urban education. Too often, as graduate students, we read more about theory then seeing examples of these theories play out in classrooms.
• Set 90's 
• May not be as relevant but still has some great take aways.
• For example, we can still relate to the examples presented in the book around working within the education system rather than working completely against it. (Chapter 7)
• African American Students
• But what defines African American?
• Talks about larger sub-set but does not dive into specific cultures.
• With no definition, it is harder to apply. 
• Sometimes tests are not culturally sensitive.
• These spur conversations around test questions being unfair. 
• (Not in the book) For example, standardized test that had an essay on first snow day experience when some students are new to the country and have never seen snow. 
• The book is able to identify problematic aspects of teacher training programs and provides examples relevant connections to our current Pre-Prac experiences.