What Difference Does Difference Make?

This book reports on conversations in which elementary schoolteachers--who have taught in urban settings for an average of 20 years each--reflect on their professional work. The conversations in the book testify to the teachers' ability to engage young people in active learning--and their stories of teaching and learning verify that difference does make a difference. The conversations in the book explore issues related to teaching children from diverse backgrounds--the multiethnic teachers from the East Bay area of San Francisco met regularly to discuss educational questions. Throughout the book, comments and observations are shared about students, classroom dynamics, schools, and the larger community. In addition, many of the book's chapters conclude with a series of questions designed to guide readers in their own reflections on teaching and learning as well as annotated lists of books, articles, and other helpful resources. According to the book, socioeconomic and language constraints, as well as those institutionally imposed in the form of behavioral labels and standardized tests, do not have to keep children from making great strides in their literacy education. The book concludes with an extension of the teachers' conversations by inviting some academicians to comment on the central concern expressed in the book's title. (NKA)