Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty

This influential book describes the knowledge and skills teachers and school administrators need to recognize and combat bias and inequity that undermine educational engagement for students experiencing poverty. Featuring important revisions based on newly available research and lessons from the author’s professional development work, this Second Edition includes: a new chapter outlining the dangers of “grit” and deficit perspectives as responses to educational disparities; three updated chapters of research-informed, on-the-ground strategies for teaching and leading with equity literacy; and expanded lists of resources and readings to support transformative equity work in high-poverty and mixed-class schools. Written with an engaging, conversational style that makes complex concepts accessible, this book will help readers learn how to recognize and respond to even the subtlest inequities in their classrooms, schools, and districts.

"(C)ommunication center professionals will find this excellent book a useful resource for beginning conversations about class inequities in their centers and for educating themselves about barriers faced by students in poverty before they reach our institutions."--Communication Center Journal, Recommended for any educator or those who support them -- superintendent, principal, teacher, teacher candidate, board member -- Gorski's logic is unparalleled--School Administrator, A must-read for educators in schools of all kinds. This accessible, highly relevant book empowers teachers with tools they can use today. Read it, talk about it with your friends and colleagues, and use it as a guide for your next project in educational activism! Our students' school experiences will surely be better for it.--Rethinking Schools, Provides a good overview of the topic, delivers clear, well-researched information, and helps all educators expand their knowledge of poverty and social class. --Choice

Paul C. Gorski is associate professor in the School of Integrative Studies (SIS) at George Mason University and the founder of EdChange (www.EdChange.org).