---
product_id: 37358270
title: "For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy)"
brand: "christopher emdin"
price: "€ 20.36"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/37358270-for-white-folks-who-teach-in-the-hood-and-rest
store_origin: HR
region: Croatia
---

# For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy)

**Brand:** christopher emdin
**Price:** € 20.36
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## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy) by christopher emdin
- **How much does it cost?** € 20.36 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/37358270-for-white-folks-who-teach-in-the-hood-and-rest)

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## Description

A New York Times Best Seller
"Essential reading for all adults who work with black and brown young people...Filled with exceptional intellectual sophistication and necessary wisdom for the future of education."—Imani Perry, National Book Award Winner author of South To America
An award-winning educator offers a much-needed antidote to traditional top-down pedagogy and promises to radically reframe the landscape of urban education for the better
Drawing on his own experience of feeling undervalued and invisible in classrooms as a young man of color, Dr. Christopher Emdin has merged his experiences with more than a decade of teaching and researching in urban America. He takes to task the perception of urban youth of color as unteachable, and he challenges educators to embrace and respect each student’s culture and to reimagine the classroom as a site where roles are reversed and students become the experts in their own learning. Putting forth his theory of Reality Pedagogy, Emdin provides practical tools to unleash the brilliance and eagerness of youth and educators alike—both of whom have been typecast and stymied by outdated modes of thinking about urban education. With this fresh and engaging new pedagogical vision, Emdin demonstrates the importance of creating a family structure and building communities within the classroom, using culturally relevant strategies like hip-hop music and call-and-response, and connecting the experiences of urban youth to indigenous populations globally.
Merging real stories with theory, research, and practice, Emdin demonstrates how by implementing the “Seven Cs” of reality pedagogy in their own classrooms, urban youth of color benefit from truly transformative education.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Dimensions | 5.43 x 0.67 x 8.5 inches |
| Edition | Reprint |
| Isbn 10 | 0807028029 |
| Isbn 13 | 978-0807028025 |
| Item Weight | 10.8 ounces |
| Language | English |
| Part Of Series | Race, Education, and Democracy |
| Print Length | 232 pages |
| Publication Date | January 3, 2017 |
| Publisher | Beacon Press |

## Images

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ He uses his own experiences to illustrate how easy it is to falsely confirm biased preconceptions
*by  on Reviewed in the United States August 16, 2017*

For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too is a book for more than just white educators who teach primarily minority students. The book focusses on low income, urban schools which have a majority of black and latino students, but the themes can be applied to any scholastic or workplace setting. It is essentially a tutorial on a how to build a communal atmosphere in the classroom and then use that framework to motivate students to learn. Christopher Emdin shows why a traditional background in modern educational practices is not enough to motivate disadvantaged kids to learn. He uses his own experiences to illustrate how easy it is to falsely confirm biased preconceptions. Then he explains how the heart of the problem lies in how those elevated into administrative positions create policy based off those preconceptions. The overall tone of the book however, is optimistic. Emdin provides a strategy for making substantive change in urban education.The book effectively portrays the disconnect between white teachers and students of color. Emdin refers to these students as neoindigenous, literally meaning “new indigenous”. He believes their struggles are deeply related to those indigenous Americans experienced as the Unites States expanded and forced integration. He argues that the primary cause of discord in the past was the failure to acknowledge the value of Native American culture and incorporate it into Western dogma. Emdin claims that the same thing is happening today to black and brown students.” The leaders within the field of urban education can’t fathom the day-to-day experiences of urban students who see themselves as ready to learn despite not being perceived that way.”He proposes that schools are alienating students from their communities as they attempt to “reform” them. One of his core ideas is that Neoindigenous are failing because teachers treat them as if their culture is inferior. They think the only way to achieve progress is by erasing their identity and replacing it with obedience. Emdin makes it clear that this only leads to either rebellion or soul crushing submission. The best solution is sympathetic insight.“Addressing the issues that plague urban education requires a true vision that begins with seeing students in the same way they see themselves.”He acknowledges that it isn’t the teacher’s fault, that teachers are trying hard, but the methods they are instructed to use don’t reach neoindigenous populations.Emdin does a great job of introducing educational concepts and showing how to properly employ new techniques in the classroom. Each chapter of the book builds upon the ideas of the last to create a broad strategy. Every method he suggests is related to fostering a communal atmosphere, resulting in what he calls pentecostal pedagogy. In his own words“Pentecostal pedagogy considers the language of the students, and incorporates it into the teaching by welcoming slang, colloquialisms, and “nonacademic” expressions, and then uses them to introduce new topics, knowledge, and conversations...Pentecostal pedagogy teaches us that once student voice is prominent in the classroom, and a classroom family structure has been established, issues that traditionally plague urban classrooms, like poor management and low participation, are quickly addressed or even self-corrected.”The core tactic designed to implement pentecostal pedagogy is the cogen. Cogen is short for cogenerative dialogue, meaning a discussion among the teacher and students about their collective needs. By collecting a small, diverse group of students from the class and making them comfortable enough to share their thoughts the teacher gains a great deal of insight. After the cogen is established Emdin shows how it can be used to create a cosmopolitan classroom, one which lets students feel connected to their class and educational goals. The key is allowing students to take part in the process.“students in traditional K– 12 schools have to be viewed as partners with the adults who are officially charged with the delivery of content and be seen/ named/ treated as fellow teachers or coteachers.”Emdin chronicles his past experience with these methods by highlighting his success as well as the hurdles to proper execution.Perhaps the most demanding instruction the book suggests is that educators must go outside their comfort zone and into the neighborhoods of the neoindigenous. The majority of teachers never identify with their pupils beyond the teacher/mentor relationship. Emdin believes to really know someone you have to go where they live.“it became clear that there are three basic steps to fully learning about, and engaging with, students’ context….The first involves being in the same social spaces with the neoindigenous, the second is engaging with the context, and the third is making connections between the out-of-school context and classroom teaching.”This step is the embodiment of all the other processes in pentecostal pedagogy. Emdin contends that to really know someone and make genuine connections you have to enter their social spaces.I think Christopher Emdin does an incredible job of demonstrating how to use pedagogical techniques in any environment. The focus is the neoindiginous population but I think the insight he provides is universally applicable. The layman reader will finish this book with a deep understanding of why many kids are struggling and how to fix it. Professional educators will have a refreshing example of how to use the tools they have acquired in their own education to reach their students.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Damage the System
*by  on Reviewed in the United States November 7, 2020*

“You cannot teach someone you do not believe in.” A truer statement perhaps was never made, and a book perhaps has not proven this more than For White Folks Who Teach In The Hood. This is the basis of the book, a story that not only uses allusions and metaphors to teach about having a non-bias and educationally evolved classroom, but also fosters the need for support and empathy. It is hard to find fault in a text so beautifully written and intrinsic. There are two points that I could complain about, the first is that I teach at a low income diverse school and I was not told “not to smile until November” as the book suggests, but I did and do receive glimpses of judgement of students based on their name and how they look. I also see teachers who run militaristic classrooms where fun and humor are not fostered. So, although the book was not on the nose, it did dance around some of the issues that I see in my peers. My other complaint would be that it did not give enough examples as to how to apply some of the concepts. These ideas, the “Seven C’s”, were so well thought out and outside of my cultural comfort zone that they made me think, they made me question, and they made me imagine, but without even more direction I have concerns about applying them. “Cosmopolitanism” aligns with my class ideals and goals so perfectly it felt like a piece I had long been missing. “Co-Teaching” I could not relate to aside from having my students teach more, but I wish there was additional insight into ways I could comfortably do that. “Cogens” sound fascinating, but I am so unaware of Cyphers that I am hesitant to try. Is this still a common practice among youth? Will they even understand what my awkwardness is attempting? How do I even get started or know which students to include? “Context and Content” was all too familiar and supported my already formed goals of a universal learning environment. “Competition” stirred the thoughts already bubbling within me about more game play in teaching, and “Clean” reminded me of the importance of being “Ratchetdemic” a euphemism Christopher Emdin coined that will forever define part of my teaching philosophy. Overall, the text was enlightening and thought provoking. It’s ideas like “call and response” or “ secret handshakes” should and could be applied to classrooms well outside of what would be considered “the hood”. However, it requires teachers who are brave, creative, and unbashfully themselves to break the mold, deviate from their peers, and venture into a world of organized chaos. “It essentially boils down to whether one chooses to do damage to the system or to the student” and I, like the book suggests, choose to damage the system every time.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book should be the urban educator's bible!
*by  on Reviewed in the United States March 22, 2016*

Christopher Emdin’s, For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y’all Too provides a breath of fresh air for any urban educator who is looking to improve their practice or gain authentic insight on urban youth. The title and book cover alone grabs the attention of anyone who has even the slightest interest in education and relates to all educators stakeholders in education. Dr. Emdin, associate director of the Institute of Urban and Minority Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and recipient of the Multicultural Educator of the Year award from the National Association of Multicultural Educators (to name a few) draws from his personal experiences as an urban student, urban educator and urban education researcher to offer a new approach to teaching and learning and urban educational spaces.In a time where researchers have described and discussed the pitfalls of urban education at nauseum, they also lack in providing notable policy or pedagogical practices that improve teaching and learning in urban schools. This allows urban schools to continue follow the same traditional narrative without a remedy. In his book, however, Emdin provides a rich description of urban schools through his multiple lens as an urban educator and more importantly and he provides pedagogical practices which he has developed through his research in urban schools.In his illustration of the context of urban education, he shares that urban educators often find themselves in a position to serve a “savior” to urban students to improve their circumstance or save them from their communities, which teachers may deem as dangerous, gritty or not palatable. Emdin argues that when educators feel as if their are in a position to act as a “savior” for urban youth, educators miss opportunities to create deep connections with students, which ultimately lead to the misunderstanding the realities of their students. Emdin questions and challenges the age old common practices of urban educators where teachers are encouraged to erase themselves to seem invisible to students, to not smile until november and condition students act “proper.” He argues that when educators enact these practices it allows them to be emotionally disconnected from students and in turn miss opportunities to foster deep connections with students.Emdin suggest that urban educators consider his approach to teaching and learning, Realty Pedagogy, which “focuses on teaching and learning as it is successfully practiced within communities physically outside of, and oftentimes beyond, the school.” Emdin’s Reality Pedagogy, which he thoroughly describes through personal anecdotes and practical examples, draws on enactments which occur in the Pentecostal church and Hip-Hop culture and is composed of practical tools (7C’s) that educators can use in their classrooms tomorrow.Emdin, writes this book for “white teachers who are already in these schools, the preparation of those being recruited to take these teaching positions, and [to] challenge a 'white folks pedagogy' that is enacted by teachers of all ethnic and racial backgrounds.” While Emdin does not blame educators for their lack of understanding of the realities of urban youth, he also does not believe that increasing the number of Black educators is the ultimate solution to improving urban schools. Rather, he believes we should focus our attention on working with educators on improving their knowledge of urban youth and their connections with their students, with the already established teaching workforce.For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y’all Too, comes at a pivotal time considering the state of urban education. Urban schools continue to fail to educate the students they serve. Emdin’s approach to teaching and learning encourages educators to try a different approach and “focuses on privileging the ways that students make sense of the classroom while acknowledging that the teacher often has very different expectations about the classroom.”

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*Last updated: 2026-06-21*