Table of Contents

CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: Choices: The Roots of Action
Gardens and Deserts: Rich and Poor
Behind the Garden Gate: When a Teacher Humiliates
Opening the Garden Gate: When Teachers Inspire
Stepping Through the Gate: Crossing the Economic Divide
Guided By Teachers’ Voices
Walking Through The Chapters
CHAPTER TWO: The Meaning Behind the Teaching Voices in the Classroom
Nkosi Sikele iAfrika–When Protest Hymn Becomes National Anthem: Teaching as a Political Act
Whose Voices Do We Hear?
Children’s Cultural and Literary Lives: Variations on a Theme
Courageous Singing of The Words and of the World: Critical Literacy
Hearing Every Voice: Student Teacher Trust
When Preconceptions Meet Pedagogy: Deficit Thinking
Voices That Sing Above the Noise: Transformative Teachers
CHAPTER THREE: Weaving a Tapestry of Human Identity
Connecting the Strands
Seamless Gathering
The Call to Teach: The Threads of Passion
Identities: Single Threads or Embroidered Designs
Should Color be Primary?
When Colors Clash
Weaving a New Cloth
CHAPTER FOUR: Stepping Over Boundaries
Teachers Crossing Borders
Collaborating with Allies Beyond Classroom Boundaries
Community Gatherings Within Classroom Boundaries
Neighborhood Divisions
Hidden Pockets of Poverty
Beyond the Boundaries
Invitations From Across the Border
Crossing the Boundary of Traditional Curriculum
Seeking Ways to Celebrate
Imagination as their Guide
Honoring Every Sojourner
Journey Toward Justice
Connecting Separate Worlds
Building Bridges
Scaffolds
Breaking Barriers and Standing Strong
Knocking Down Walls
Following the Equity Trail
CHAPTER FIVE: Following The Equity Trail: A Kaleidoscope Of Learning
Bringing it all into Focus
Pieces of the Picture
Pieces of Identity
Magnificent Mosaics
Colorful Pasts
Capturing an Image
Forming New Constellations
Creating Literary Configurations
Choosing our Patterns of Teaching
Giving Shape to Invisible Borders
Imagining Future Pieces
A Final Focus
REFERENCES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About the Author

Melissa Landa is assistant clinical professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy, and Leadership at the University of Maryland.

Reviews

In this original and beautifully crafted book, Melissa Landa draws upon her love of language and literature to argue the importance of cross-cultural understandings for teachers and students in their instructional relationships. Grounded in an insightful analysis of urban school systems and courageously mining her own biography growing up in apartheid South Africa, the author weaves powerful stories of five teachers who use literature to engage their students in difficult conversations about social and cultural divides. Through powerful images of collaborative classroom cultures and teachers who cross boundaries to navigate school system demands while always putting children first, Melissa expands and sharpens possibilities for transformative teaching and teacher education, and greater educational equity.
*Linda Valli, University of Maryland*

In an era of high stakes testing and regressive views of literacy pedagogy, Dr. Landa's book is a breath of fresh air, reminding us that teaching in Title I schools is at once a profession, a passion, a calling, and, most importantly, a personal choice. Anchored by published scholarship, her own personal life and work as an elementary teacher and teacher educator, and her study of five White teachers who chose to work in Title I schools, the powerful narratives that Dr. Landa shares challenge and inspire us to move beyond deficit-oriented perspectives towards humanizing pedagogies that honor children's cultural identities, leverage their linguistic and familial funds of knowledge for classroom learning, and invite them to read and write their own worlds.
*Jennifer Turner, University of Maryland*

How do teachers work against the racism and classism embedded within school structures that (dis)serve so many children?  Can White teachers develop a critically conscious positionality that would enable them to work effectively with Children of Color and economically poor children?  Melissa Landa’s story as a child in Apartheid South Africa and her experience as an early childhood literacy teacher mingle with the stories of other literacy teachers in Title I schools who are attempting to do so.  As she explores the barriers that exist and the possibilities for more transformative teaching, she makes visible the important identity work teachers undertake and the commitments they must consciously nurture to remain focused on this goal. 
*Barbara Seidl, University of Colorado Denver*