In this chapter excerpt, author Alfred W. Tatum looks at the ways in which "poverty has a way of souring the childhood of black males" and "reading has a way of sweetening it." Using research and findings to support his text, Tatum writes with the insight and from the perspective of a black man concerned with the development of literacy in black adolescent males.
In this chapter excerpt, author Alfred W. Tatum looks at the ways in which "poverty has a way of souring the childhood of black males" and "reading has a way of sweetening it." Using research and findings to support his text, Tatum writes with the insight and from the perspective of a black man concerned with the development of literacy in black adolescent males. He explains his story as one of having been a black boy who learned to read "amid turmoil," turning eventually to teaching other black males who were learning to read "amid turmoil," and finally providing professional development for teachers of black males who are learning to read "amid turmoil." Tatum aims to help educators reconceptualize the role of literacy for their black male students to ensure that they are offered the best literacy instruction possible. This first chapter provides an overview of what the rest of his book addresses in detail: critical factors that affect black male literacy, black males' response to these factors, and and the teachers' role in managing them. (author/bebrown)
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