Shares the voices of students speaking out against the failures of
urban education
Our schools suck. This is how many young people of color call attention
to the kind of public education they are receiving. In cities across the
nation, many students are trapped in under-funded, mismanaged and unsafe
schools. Yet, a number of scholars and of public figures have shifted
attention away from the persistence of school segregation to lambaste
the values of young people themselves. Our Schools Suck forcefully
challenges this assertion by giving voice to the compelling stories of
African American and Latino students who attend under-resourced
inner-city schools, where guidance counselors and AP classes are limited
and security guards and metal detectors are plentiful--and grow
disheartened by a public conversation that continually casts them as the
problem with urban schools.
By showing that young people are deeply committed to education but often
critical of the kind of education they are receiving, this book
highlights the dishonesty of public claims that they do not value
education. Ultimately, these powerful student voices remind us of the
ways we have shirked our public responsibility to create excellent
schools. True school reform requires no less than a new civil rights
movement, where adults join with young people to ensure an equal
education for each and every student.
