May 2023 MBR The Education Shelf

The Education Shelf

When Kids Can't Read - What Teachers Can Do, second edition
Kylene Beers
Heinemann
PO Box 6926, Portsmouth, NH 03802-6926
www.heinemann.com
9780325144597, $39.95, PB, 432pp

https://www.heinemann.com/products/e14459.aspx

Synopsis: This new and expanded second edition of "When Kids Can't Read - What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 4-12", by Kylene Beers is based upon the bedrock belief that reading, though not an innate ability for anyone, is a critical skill for all.

Reading changes us. It changes the way we think, the way we see the world, the way we process information and dream new thoughts. It allows us to discover more about ourselves and the world around us so that we might become better versions of ourselves, so we might fully participate in our communities and our nation, so that we might flourish intellectually, emotionally, creatively, and socially as passionate and compassionate beings.

And when we don't read, when kids can't read, all that is gone. We lose that ability to learn in this transformative way. We run the risk of being manipulated by others. We are diminished. And in that moment of being less, all around us might suffer, too. Our understanding of complex issues then becomes dependent on what someone else tells us. When kids can't read the result is far worse than lowered test scores. The result is an illiterate life.

This new and updated second edition recognizes that helping kids who struggle with reading means knowing how to help kids with: Comprehension (literal and inferential meaning); Word Work (phonics, fluency, spelling, and vocabulary); Engagement (required and independent reading, relevance, and motivation).

This new second edition of "When Kids Can't Read" also recounts author and educator Kylene Beers' journey with one student who changed the course of her professional career, and it is a guidebook for other educators in their journey with their students as they too discover What Teachers Can Do!

Critique: Informative enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a Prologue (Twenty Years Later), an Epilogue (Final Letter to George), a five page listing of Acknowledgments, a fourteen page listing of References, and a an eight page Index, this newly published second edition of "When Kids Can't Read - What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 4-12", is an ideal and comprehensive curriculum textbook that is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, school district, college, and university library Secondary Education collections and supplemental curriculum Reading/Phonics Teaching Materials studies lists.

Editorial Note: Kylene Beers (https://kylenebeers.com/blog/about) is a former middle school teacher who has turned her commitment to adolescent literacy and struggling readers into the major focus of her research, writing, speaking, and teaching. She taught in the College of Education at the University of Houston, served as Senior Reading Researcher at the Comer School Development Program at Yale University, and most recently acted as the Senior Reading Advisor to Secondary Schools for the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College. Kylene has published numerous articles in state and national journals, served as editor of the national literacy journal, Voices from the Middle, and was the 2008-2009 President of the National Council of Teachers of English. She has served as a consultant to the National Governor's Association and was the 2011 recipient of the Conference on English Leadership outstanding leader award.

Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education
Mary Rice-Boothe
ASCD
www.ascd.org/books
9781416631835 $31.95

https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Within-Systems-Inequity-Education/dp/1416631836

Synopsis: This timely guide will help leaders of color succeed within white spaces while working to dismantle those spaces for a new system where they - and students - thrive.

As a leader of color, what do you need to succeed in the systems that often have marginalized the populations you represent? What skills and support will help you to replace these existing systems with new ones that will better serve today's students?

In Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education, Mary Rice-Boothe addresses these questions with specific recommendations, outlining the "whys" and "hows" of 10 individual, interpersonal, and institutional competencies for leaders:

1. Demonstrate self-awareness.
2. Operate outside your comfort zone.
3. Practice love and rage.
4. Practice self-care.
5. Engage in authentic dialogue.
6. Attend to relationships.
7. Create a coalition.
8. Be patient but persistent.
9. Take a stand in pursuit of a liberatory education system even if it's unpopular.
10. Act to change systemic racism every day in policies, procedures, and systems.

You will learn from the experiences and insights of equity officers and principals in districts of all sizes and explore key takeaways, reflection questions, and additional resources. Both inspiring and practical, Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education is an indispensable liberation guide for overcoming obstacles and creating the path to genuine equity in schools.

Critique: Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education lives up to its title as a guide to help educational systems better serve students, especially when existing systems are marred by inequity and discrimination against students (and teachers!) based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or other factors. Educators of all backgrounds will find the practical advice to create change for the better invaluable. Highly recommended, both for college library Education Studies collections and the personal reference of professional educators in the field. "You will not achieve liberation by fighting for just one community or area of oppression. Intersectionality is paramount. Social movements are often tied together by a single issue or point of identity. This strategy has generated progress, but we need to try something different to experience liberation."

Editor's Note: Mary Rice-Boothe, EdD, has more than 25 years of experience in education as a teacher, principal, principal coach, curriculum designer, and equity officer. She currently serves as an executive director of curriculum development and equity at The Leadership Academy. In this role, she oversees the organization's internal and external equity strategy. Rice-Boothe is also the lead designer for the organization's instructional tools and resources.

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