We Got This.: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be

What a book! In the introduction, @MisterMinor tells us that his work as a teacher has been driven by the quest to “bridge the enormous gulf between the promises of education and the actual lived experiences of so many of my students.” He calls this book “a manual for how to begin that brilliantly messy work” (p. xvi). And he delivers on this promise.This manual for “doing equity” rather than just talking about it offers a wealth of templates for teacher investigations related to equity. These templates include self-coaching questions to help teachers make sense of their contexts with an equity lens and then guide responsible decision making based on what they learn.Cornelius has the heart of a coach. He knows that change involves learning. He tells us that equity-based instructional practice begins with a teacher’s strategic attention to how her teaching actions and classroom culture deny or create opportunities for students. He offers practical advice for how to support change at the school level, including sentence frames teachers can use in talking to colleagues about equity practices.Cornelius reminds us of important truths about our work as educators:1) Our work is important: To love children is to love their futures. (p. 73)2) Achieving equity in schools is everyone’s responsibility: If we are not doing equity, then we are not doing education. (p. xi)3) We are powerful: We do more than hope. We make miracles six periods a day. (p. x)4) Our power arises from our passion for students and our own willingness to be learners: As it is now, so much of contemporary teaching is waiting for someone to tell us what to do. It does not have to be that way. We can create a thing, try it, reflect on it, and change it. This ability to read a room of children, create a thing for them, recognize when the thing isn’t working for the children, and alter or change the thing completely is the most underdeveloped set of teacher skills We cannot purchase our way into this. This requires time and study and practice. This is listening to what kids need. This is assessment. This is data analysis. This is you. (p. 120)

As a new or veteran teacher I think everyone should read this. I love this author and his ideas on how to advocate for yourself and your students!

As a newbie to the teaching profession, I found this book inspirational, accessible, and empowering. So often people talk about the importance of making change without offering any guidance for how to make it happen. This book instead assumes that as a teacher, you probably already have the motivation to create change, so it actually offers tools and lessons on creating and sharing plans of action to suit your individual classroom's needs. If you've ever felt disheartened by the education system, this book will give you the skills you need to speak up for your students and identify and address the actual needs they and their community have right now. Bonus points go to the book's cool and creative comic-book-inspired design which makes the already engaging text all the more accessible. The book comes with access to online resources as well, which I love and will be using. I will use the tips in this book in my classroom and refer back to it regularly. I think it will give me a leg up as a beginner teacher. Thank you!

I liked the book okay, but it was the textbook for my Intro. to Teaching class and was too narrowly focused on how to create equity in the classroom to be a broad resource on teaching as a whole. If your class is on equity in the classroom, then buy this book. If not, look elsewhere.

Cornelius Minor takes the reader, teacher through his own journey as he works to making learning more accessible & authentic for all students. What I really liked about this book was that Minor is honest. He talks about his struggles & his successes. What I love about the book is that he shares planning documents which he uses to actually make lessons workable for himself as well as making the lessons personalized for the children in his classes. As a teacher this is something that I am striving to do, so having/seeing accessible tools which have been used successfully by another is helpful. Minor helps guide teachers to making learning better for all of the children we are working with on a daily basis

just what I needed, perfect!

This framework empowers educators to take their classrooms into their own hands & welcomes the glows and grows that come with employing research based strategies in the classroom.

Every educator should read this book about equity in our classrooms and teaching practices.