Crossing Over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms
by Gloria Ladson-Billings
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gloria Ladson-BillingsEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-03-15
ISBN: 0787950017
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Book Reviews of Crossing Over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms
Book Review: My thoughts and review of "Crossing over to Canaan"
Summary: 2 Stars
Ladson-Billings makes an attempt to inform the reader of diversity within the school setting but is most often promoting her own program, Teach for Diversity or TFD, throughout the book. I chose this book because of its great title, hoping to increase my knowledge about different cultures and how I could apply these lessons in my classroom to meet the needs of diverse learners. The book starts out with its first chapter "Can Anybody Teach These Children?" which I enjoyed reading. This chapter poses the rhetorical question: Can all children learn? I really wanted to dive in to this chapter coming away with ideas on how to best teach challenging, below grade level students and help them improve their self-efficacy. Ladson-Billings explains the increasing need for educators in inner-city schools, where beginning teachers often take on these challenging positions. These new teachers have the least experience and training to deal with such high needs classes. I could easily relate to this section in the book because when I graduated from college I was in fact one of these first year teachers thrown into a demanding position at an inner-city elementary school.
The book then focuses on the emergence of the TFD program and the eight students who practice this curriculum throughout their placements in the elementary school setting. The author's case studies are interesting, therefore any classroom teacher could relate to the struggles and triumphs touched upon in these stories. After learning about the eight students this program follows, the book then looks at the schools primary tasks within the community and how to focus on diverse students who have become academically challenged. There are many good points brought up by the author, yet the ideas are often not addressed in depth and often times I was left without an answer or reason as to why Ladson-Billings brought up a specific topic, yet did not fully describe in detail.
Overall the book was easy reading and I was left with a few good points of advice, but lacked the real-life practices I could have transferred into my classroom. I am giving this book two out of five stars based on my personal expectations.
Summary of Crossing Over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms
"Gloria Ladson-Billings provides a perceptive and interesting account of what is needed to prepare novice teachers to be successful with all students in our multicultural society. This book is must reading for all those entering the profession of teaching today and for those who prepare them for this important work."--Ken Zeichner, associate dean and professor of curriculum and instruction, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"The multiple voices in Gloria Ladson-Billings's book are compelling, provocative, and insightful-they provide a powerful 'insider' perspective on what it really means to learn to teach all children well."
--Marilyn Cochran-Smith, professor of education and editor, Journal of Teacher Education, Boston College, School of Education
"Ladson-Billings, one of the stellar researchers and most passionate advocates for social justice, has written yet another masterpiece. By weaving the novice teachers' voices, her personal teaching journey, and language rich in compelling research and inspiring metaphors, Ladson-Billings has documented how new teachers transform schools and teach poor children of color."
--Jacquline Jordan Irvine, Candler Professor of Urban Education, Emory University, Division of Educational Studies
"Masterful teacher and teacher-educator Gloria Ladson-Billings has given us--in highly readable form--a brilliant vision of what teacher education might become. In Crossing Over to Canaan we get a glimpse of how a carefully constructed teacher education program focused on teaching for social justice can produce excellent teaching, even by young, middle-class teachers-in-training, in diverse educational settings."
--Lisa D. Delpit, Benjamin E. Mays Professor of Educational Leadership, Georgia State University
The author of the best-selling book The Dreamkeepers shows how teachers can succeed in diverse classrooms. Educating teachers to work well in multicultural classrooms has become an all-important educational priority in today's schools. In Crossing Over to Canaan, Gloria Ladson-Billings details the real-life stories of eight novice teachers participating in an innovative teacher education program called Teach for Diversity. She details their struggles and triumphs as they confront challenges in the classroom and respond with innovative strategies that turn cultural strengths into academic assets. Through their experiences, Ladson-Billings illustrates how good teachers can meet the challenges of teaching students from highly diverse backgrounds--and find a way to "cross over to Canaan." She offers a model of teaching that focuses on academic achievement, cultural competence, and socio-political consciousness.
Drawing from her own experiences as a young African-American teacher working in Philadelphia, she successfully weaves together narrative, observation, and scholarship to create an inspirational and practical book that will help teachers everywhere as they work to transcend labels and categories to support excellence among all students.
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