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Title: I Choose to Stay: A Black Teacher Refuses to Desert the Inner City by Salome Thomas-El, Cecil Murphey, Cecil Murphy, Arnold Schwarzenegger ISBN: 0-7582-0187-7 Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp Pub. Date: January, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.06 (17 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Compelling Book
Comment: I Choose to Stay is a compelling book. It is not only a great read but it is also deeply informative about the needs of inner city schools, and analytical about the strengths of inner city education. The intertwining of the professional and the personal journeys of the author give this book depth and energy.
Rating: 3
Summary: An inspirationl story that lacks teeth
Comment: When I heard that this book was being published, I literally counted the days until I had my hands on it. After having read the book, my feelings were so strong that I chose not to write about it until I have had a few months to get over them. I must say that I was very disappointed. I have the highest respect for Mr. El and everyone else in his profession. I have a very similar background to Mr. El - grew up in North Philly, attended public high school, went on to pursue advanced degrees at an Ivy league university, and am deeply involved in public education in Philadelphia. Therefore, with all due respect, I found it very had to swallow some of the things that I read in the book about his experiences. I saw the embelleshments of a ghost writer all over this book. The theme became redundant after some time. The first half of the book was spent telling the reader how smart Mr. El was. The second half was about how the kids could do it if someone beileves in them etc, etc, blah, blah. I've seen all this in movies.
I also feel that the book lacked depth. What about the effect of the political scene on public education? How about explaining why the PSSA scores in your schools are always so low? I want to know why a school that has such a dedicated public servant always scores in the bottom percentile year in and year out? What are your thoughts, Mr. El, on what kind of changes we have to make to the system to make public education work in Philadelphia? I understand that Mr. El can't get involved in these issues because he still has a career to think about but I was hoping to see someone step forward and expose the political hypocrisy that continues to keep our kids down. In closing, again I want to reiterate how much I respect this profession and understand what kind of dedication and personal sacrifices have to be made in order to make changes in the lives of children so thank you for that, Mr. El.
Rating: 3
Summary: Moving Memoir!
Comment: Salome Thomas-EL's I Choose to Stay: A Black Teacher Refuses to Desert the Inner-City is a testament of selfless dedication and commitment to Philadelphia's inner-city community. He opens by recapping his childhood and ever-present internal drive to succeed despite the obstacles in his path. Born into a large family with little money and an absentee father, Mr. Thomas-EL excelled academically and stayed out of trouble as a youth. His record of accomplishment earned him respect from instructors who encouraged him to live up to his potential despite peer pressure to do otherwise. He credits his mother and teachers as having the greatest influence on his life and has made it his mission to reciprocate all the many blessings he has received.
He shares that early in his life he felt he was destined to teach and cites a few early adult experiences that seemed to confirm the inevitable. His innovative academic programs, strong rapport with students, and love of teaching led him to become an effective and influential educator and role model. Mr. Thomas-EL meticulously chronicles the resurgence and accomplishments of the Vaux Chess Team and the strategies that he used to encourage and develop the students' skills for the game and life's hard lessons. As stated in the foreword written by Arnold Schwarzenegger, there is no doubt that Salome Thomas-EL is to be commended for his tireless efforts and devotion to the children of Vaux Middle School. Written in the same vein of Joe Clark's Lean On Me, Thomas-EL's I Choose To Stay is proof that inner-city public schools can succeed and produce great students.
Although Thomas-EL's story is truly inspirational, it is the construct of the book or memoir that distracts from the story. There are some passages and concepts that are repeated and the story's flow stalled in a few areas. However, if the reader is looking for a positive, feel good, encouraging story, then this novel delivers.
Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, The Nubian Circle Book Club
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Title: Losing My Faculties : A Teacher's Story by Brendan Halpin ISBN: 1400060834 Publisher: Villard Pub. Date: 12 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Field Experience: A Guide to Reflective Teaching (5th Edition) by George J. Posner ISBN: 0801330793 Publisher: Pearson Allyn & Bacon Pub. Date: 10 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $58.40 |
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Title: Young, Gifted, and Black : Promoting High Achievement Among African-American Students by Theresa Perry ISBN: 0807031542 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 17 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Black Students / Middle Class Teachers by Jawanza Kunjufu ISBN: 0913543810 Publisher: African American Images Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Morning by Morning : How We Home-Schooled Our African-American Sons to the Ivy League by Paula Penn-Nabrit ISBN: 0375507744 Publisher: Villard Pub. Date: 18 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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