Up Where We Belong: Helping African American and Latino Students Rise in School and in Life »

Gail L. Thompson is associate professor ofeducation at Claremont Graduate University and a respected speaker, workshop presenter, and consultant. Her research has focused on beliefs and perceptions about African-American students. She is the author of Through Ebony Eyes: What Teachers Need to Know But Are Afraid to Ask About African American Students from Jossey-Bass, African American Teens Discuss Their Schooling Experiences and What African American Parents Want to Know. She is also co-author of Exposing the Culture of Arrogance in the Academy. She lives in Rialto, California.

In Up Where We Belong, Gail Thompson asked the students in a low performing school to be candid about their high school experiences. Using this information and relying on data from questionnaires and focus groups, Thompson discovered a huge gap in perception between how teachers and students view their experience of school. The book explores this disparity, and uncovers some of the reasons for students’ low achievement, apathy, and frustration. Most important, she offers vital lessons for transforming schools–especially for underachieving kids and students of color. 

Acknowledgments     x
About the Author     xi
Introduction     1
In the Classroom
"You Can Tell If They Care": Why Students Need Caring and Highly Qualified Teachers     13
"It Would Be Nice to Learn Something About My Culture": A Plea for a Culturally Relevant and More Interesting Education     38
"It Don't Make No Sense to Give Us All These Tests": Student Effort, Achievement, and Attitudes About Standardized Tests     65
"They Just Think We're Loud": How Discipline Policies and Practices Can Affect Students' Attitudes About School     97
On the Schoolyard
"We just Can't Seem to Get Along": Race Relations on Campus     131
"You Don't Know If They're Gonna...Bust a Columbine on Everybody": Why Schools Won't Ever Be Entirely Safe     154
"Everybody's Intimidated by Us": A Candid Conversation with African American Males     179
"This Place Is Nasty": How the School's Physical Environment Can Contribute to Student Apathy     206
Out in the World: Beyond the Classroom and the Schoolyard
"Yes! They Do Care About My Education": Parent Involvement in Schools     223
"They Should Worry More About Our Future": Why America's Stepchildren Need a College Preparatory Curriculum     245
The Truth Can Set Us Free! Seven Lessons I've Learned About School Reform in America     266
Notes     291
Teacher Demographics     309
Student Demographics     310
Additional Information About the Student Questionnaire Respondents     311
Teacher Questionnaire Results     312
Student Questionnaire Results     319
Classroom Management Exercise 1     327
Classroom Management Exercise 2     328
Index     329