Books: Summer 2017

The Diversity Bargain
Natasha Warikoo
What do college students think about diversity and merit? Associate Professor Natasha Warikoo, Ed.M.'97, interviewed students at Harvard College, Brown, and Oxford and found that many elite white students understand the value of diversity in an abstract way and reluctantly agree with affirmative action, but only as long as it benefits themselves. They don’t necessarily see the benefit to people of color. Many also see themselves as part of an elite that was fairly chosen though an inclusive process, not taking into account how their privileges or upbringing may have helped them.

When the Fences Come Down
Genevieve Siegel-Hawley
One of the goals of this new book by Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Ed.M.’05, assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, is to shed light on the major issues involved in understanding the relationship between boundary lines and segregation. Using data from four U.S. districts — Richmond, Virginia; Louisville, Kentucky; Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina; and Chattanooga, Tennessee — Siegel-Hawley shows “the damages wrought by the segregating impact of school district boundary lines” as well as regions that have tried to counteract them.

The Joy of Language
Tara Tuck
Over the years, Tara Tuck, C.A.S.’91, a teacher and speech-language pathologist, found that when she spoke to parents about how language and speech developed, they had many questions and there were few books she could recommend to them. Most were written as college textbooks or in academic lingo. So Tuck decided to write her own book, using common questions to frame the chapters. Her book, The Joy of Language, also contains easy-to-understand definitions and a glossary of terms, as well as “try this” and “share the joy” exercises and activities for parents and caregivers.

Do Parents Matter?
Robert LeVine and Sarah LeVine
After decades studying the cultural aspects of parent-hood and child development, anthropologists Professor Bob LeVine, emeritus, and Sarah LeVine explore how differently people around the world parent and how this affects the development of their children. American middle class parents, they find, compared with parents elsewhere, “feel burdened and anxious, not only about their children but about the effectiveness of their parenting.” Yet the influence of parenting on child development has been “grossly exaggerated” in the mass media, they say. “The time has come for American parents to reconsider the burdens they place on them-selves for dubious ends.”

College for Every Student
Rick Dalton and Edward St. John
Rick Dalton, Ed.M.’79, Ed.D.’88, president and CEO of College for Every Student, and Edward St. John, Ed.D.’78, professor at the University of Michigan, share practical resources and lessons learned that can help educators and volunteers help low-income students find pathways to college — what they say is no longer a luxury, but a necessity — and then successfully get through college. In addition to real-life case studies, the book also includes chapters on understanding the challenges and how to get started.

More books by the HGSE community:

Every Student Succeeds Act, Frederick Hess, Ed.M.’90, and Max Eden

From Prisoner to Ph.D., Anthony Baxter, Ed.M.’86

Really Writing, Joan Bolker, M.A.T.’62, Ed.D.’75

Writing Medicine, Joan Bolker, M.A.T.’62, Ed.D.’75

Growing Each Other Up, Professor Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Ed.D.’72

Connecting Right From the Start, Jennifer Chen, Ed.M.’99, Ed.D.’04

Sophie Topfeather: Superstar! Sonja Anderson, Ed.M.’87

So You’re in the Family Business, Paul Karofsky, Ed.M.’90, and David Karofsky

Education and Equality, Professor Danielle Allen

Hard Questions on Global Educational Change, Jonathan Hasak, Ed.M.’14, Vanessa Rodriguez, Ed.M.’13, Ed.D.’16, and Pasi Sahlberg (former visiting prrofessor)