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Crossing The Hall: Exposing An American Divide Kindle Edition
Why is it so many white Americans are proud to tell you they don’t even see color? Why are they extraordinarily confident they aren’t racist?
Lori Wojtowicz has spent her life in classrooms, 35 years teaching and now traveling the country as an educational consultant. She writes not of what she taught, but of what she learned. And the lessons were not easy. Her students provided a microcosm of American society, and she was forced to confront the issue of racism in her classroom, her country, and most significantly in herself. A journey in self reflection, she presents the questions she now believes white Americans must ask of themselves if there is ever to be equity. An unusual pair, Plato and Malcolm X, and all the students served as her guides. She writes because of them.
“Reading this book, as an African American man, I felt at times like a fly on the wall, being privy to thoughts and conversations that I wouldn’t ever be privy to. Wojtowicz follows her own journey questioning the myths that White Americans envelop themselves within to insulate against honestly and sincerely dealing with the issues of race in America. What I didn’t expect to take away from reading this book, what took me completely by surprise, was how inspired I was after reading it to question my own assumptions about race and identity in America.”
Author, Sometimes When You Pursue the Beast, It Eats You Nkrumah Shabazz Steward
"For decades we have wrestled with the “achievement gap.” In Crossing The Hall experienced teacher, Lori Wojtowicz, challenges us to think more deeply about that persistent gap. To understand the gap, she writes, we must first understand ourselves, our culture, our society. She offers up her life, in and out of the classroom, for examination and reflection, and she challenges each of us to do the same with our lives. But don’t assume this book is only for teachers. This book should appeal to any and all who are concerned about our country and the direction it is currently taking. Put this book on your “must read” list."
Founder of New School, Ann Arbor, Richard Ballard
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateAugust 15, 2019
- Grade level9 - 12
- File size872 KB
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Product details
- ASIN : B07T8C9KL1
- Publication date : August 15, 2019
- Language : English
- File size : 872 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 230 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,078,643 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #615 in Biographies of Educators (Kindle Store)
- #2,426 in Educator Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
My life has been lived in classrooms. A teacher for thirty-five years, I write not of what I taught, but of what I learned. The lessons were not easy. I learned racism is alive and well, not only in our school system and American society, but also within myself. Crossing The Hall: Exposing An American Divide, strips away the myths that keep white America blind to the truth. It poses the questions that white America will need to ask of themselves if we are ever to approach true equality. I wish I had asked the questions sooner. I now work for WestEd, a nonprofit, public research, and development agency in San Francisco as a national educational facilitator.
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2019Read Critically, Think Deeply, Write Well, Act Wisely (p. 4) - Lori Wojtowicz’s classroom rules flashed before my eyes as I read Crossing the Hall: Exposing an American Divide, not once but twice! I kept highlighting more golden lines and making more connections.
This is not your typical education text, filled with quick fix solutions to the complex issues educators discuss, debate, and sometimes ignore. Rather, it is a book that forces us to reflect on our family experiences, our attitudes, our biases and to confront their impact on our families, our colleagues, our students, and their parents.
Through her use of research, the teachings of Malcolm X and Plato, and thought provoking personal stories, Lori has masterfully explored the issues of racism, inequality, the achievement gap, and equity. Every educator and non-educator should read this book.
No, it doesn't provide solutions, but, more importantly, sets the stage for honest, meaningful dialogue, the first step in developing realistic action plans.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2021While the educational system forms the setting for this exploration of questions of race, inclusion and exclusion, it is equally a thought-provoking statement about society as a whole. The questions and reflections it stimulated for me, and the conversations it generated amongst my family and friends were highly impactful.
A text I may well read again.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2020This book woke memories of being a white kid going to an inner city Detroit school in the 60’s. It reminded me that for all intents and purposes I’m back in The Land of Only White and will have to work hard for the rest of my life to eliminate the inherent racism that comes with that. Thank you Lori for sharing this story of courage and awakening. We all have a
Lot of waking up to do. This book helps to understand that. JBBM
- Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2021So insightful. A must read for all teachers. The words of a 35 year teacher about the inequalities in education. A must read message.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2020Excellent read for educators who are truly seeking knowledge on creating culturally responsive classrooms.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2019A new perspective on diversity is unpacked in this well written piece that speaks to the heart of education today.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2019I loved this book. I majored in African-American Studies in college, so I have read many African-American scholars dissect and examine White American culture, but I have found very few resources where a White American is reflecting on and critically examining the subject of race from a White American’s perspective.
While I have found value in what Black scholars have had to say about how White Americans view race, they are, and always will be, examining from the outside looking in. In my opinion, it is always best to get information as close to the source as possible. Aren’t we taught in college that, whenever possible, use primary sources when doing research? Then who better to explain how White America views issues of race than from a White American?
Lori reveals, “When you are raised in the Land of Only White, one thing you know for sure is you are not a racist.”
For me, that seems to check out. I don’t know anyone white who thinks that they are racist. Yet, there is evidence of systemic racism throughout American society which is predominantly white, but with no white racists.
Reading this book, as an African American man, I felt at times like a fly on the wall, being privy to thoughts and conversations that I wouldn’t ever be privy to.
Lori Wojowicz writes, “It’s interesting that I don’t even consider those in my circle as drug dealers. That’s just not a term we, in the Land of Only White, use for our own— even when it fits.”
The next day I asked a friend of mine if he thought this was true. And he said, “We call them our ‘connect’ or our ‘hookup’ we never call them ‘drug dealers’”.
As Lori pointed out, only “others” are drug dealers.
Then, there are times when Lori confirms what many Black Americans often “feel” in our interactions with White Americans that few White Americans would ever admit, “When we in the Land of Only White ask, ‘Why do they act that way, or dress like that, or speak like that?’ we aren’t asking questions that seek understanding. Instead, we are delivering veiled statements of disrespect that reinforce our preferred separation.”
Inspired by both Socrates and Malcolm X, Lori Wojowicz references Socrates Allegory of the Cave recounted in Plato’s Republic throughout the book, as well as the words of Malcolm X, as she follows her own journey questioning the myths that White Americans envelop themselves within to insulate against honestly and sincerely dealing with the issues of race in America.
At one point Lori Wojowicz confesses, “I am not ashamed of being white; I’m ashamed that I thought I was better.”
What I didn’t expect to take away from reading this book, what took me completely by surprise, was how inspired I was after reading it to question my own assumptions about race and identity in America.
One reason Lori Wojowicz comes across as so authentic is that this book never comes across as preachy. Not once. Lori never positions herself as “the authority” dispensing wisdom for you to soak up. Instead, just as she did with her own students, she invites you, the reader, to challenge her conclusions and allow her to challenge your own.
Lori writes “You don’t have to agree with me on the issues of race I write about, but I ask you to bring them into the light of evaluation and honest debate. I say there is a system of racism still thriving in America. What facts will you bring to refute me?”
This, to me, is the best thing about the book.
It invites a conversation. Which in today’s America is needed more than ever.
Through this book not only does she give us an opportunity to benefit from her journey of questioning and thinking critically about race and identity but it will also inspire you, like a literary version of the Rocky theme song, to do the same.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2021The author frequently makes conflicting claims in their various chapters and the book overall is a mess. There is some very well thought out sections regarding implicit bias, but it is not enough to spare this book a negative review.