Subtractive Schooling: U.S.-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring by Angela Valenzuela (State University of New York Press, 1999).
As a proud Chicana, I am always looking for Latinx authors, particularly those who can shed light on the experiences of Latinx young people. Through her stories and careful research, Valenzuela names the ways schools strip young people of their identities. The book is based on a three-year ethnographic study at a high school in Houston, Texas. “Subtractive schooling,” she writes, “encompasses subtractively assimilationist policies and practices that are designed to divest Mexican students of their culture and language.” The students in her book “oppose a schooling process that disrespects them,” a process that creates social, cultural, and linguistic divisions, resulting in weak teacher-student relationships and a feeling of mistrust that stifles learning. Though 20 years old, the findings in this book are still all too relevant today. This classic book points to the need for culturally responsive leadership and instruction that embraces identity as part of the learning process.
Kappan articles by Nancy B. Gutiérrez:
- The value of interracial facilitation of racial equity training
- Learning to lead for equity
- Toward racial equity in public schooling: Less talk, more action
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nancy B. Gutierrez
NANCY B. GUTIÉRREZ is president and CEO of the NYC Leadership Academy, Long Island City, N.Y.
