City Kids, City Schools ─ More Reports from the Front Row

The disparity between the schools of the inner cities and the schools in suburbs is well documented. In this companion to City Kids, City Teachers: Reports from the Front Row editors Ayers (education, University of Illinois, Chicago) Ladson-Billings (urban education, University of Wisconsin-Madison) and others, combine both new and previously published essays, speeches and poetry to state the nature of the problem and provide possible solutions. The overall theme is that the No Child Left Behind act is a dismal failure, under funded and badly planned. The authors also stress that without addressing the entire social situation of poverty along with racial and cultural prejudice, schools are unlikely to improve. This is a book for general readership which both teachers and lawmakers will find informative. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)