School Kids/Street Kids: Identity Development in Latino Students

by Nilda Flores-Gonzalez

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807742236
• ISBN13: 9780807742235
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Read for ALL Educators in an Urban Setting

Educators of any grade level who work in an urban area should read this book. It is an enlightening experience that discusses the tough experiences students deal with everyday (inside and outside of school). If you think you don't need to read this book because you don't teach high school or Latino students, you are wrong. Elementary school experiences set the foundation for the future, and the situations these students face can be applied to all ethnicities. Nilda Flores-Gonzalez conducted research in a low-income, high dropout rate Chicago public high school. She grouped students into the role identities of school kids (stayers), street kids (leavers), and a mix of both identities (returners). Within each of these categories, she includes detailed descriptions as well as direct dialogue from the students which is very interesting, emotional, and truthful. She discusses what different role identities these students were pushed into or chose, and their constant struggles with those identities (even for stayers). The role identities of the stayers coincide with each other and with school expectations, but the leavers and returners struggle with conflicting identities. This book provides insight into why students take on certain identities. Many leavers and returners have little self-efficacy due to variables such as lack of challenge, little teacher credibility, economic background, and age (McCabe, P., 2006). Many leavers model the negative behaviors of their peers (ie: skipping school, joining gangs) because they want to fit in and they fear what might happen if they don't. This coincides with research on modeling aggressive acts (Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross. S.A., 1961). While reading, you will think about why certain students do not become school kids, and what strategies/programs you can put in place to change this. You will realize that "we need to transform the educational system to be inclusive of the realities and experiences of all children" (Nilda Flores-Gonzalez, 2002, p.163).

This should be required reading

Nilda Flores-Gonzalez's book, School Kids/Street Kids: Identity Development in Latino Students, is an eye-opening, thought-provoking, and at times heart-wrenching account of the struggle to achieve and succeed in our nation's heavily-flawed public education system. Gonzalez documented the experiences of Latino Youth in an urban Chicago High School with a significantly high drop out rate. The remaining student body is populated with students that Gonzalez categorizes into three separate identities: the school kids, (who are also called stayers), street kids, (also called leavers for their eventual decision to drop out, and the school kids/street kids, (referred to as returners as they decide to re-enroll and pursue a diploma after previously dropping out). The roles, or identities, these students have adopted are thoroughly examined through interviews and anecdotes. The factors that contribute to the formation and maintenance of these roles are supported through academic research and statistics, which become personified through the personal accounts of the students and their reflections. This book does an incredible job of highlighting the issues many of our students (not just Latino) face throughout their school experience. The author identifies the factors and experiences that lead to the success (the exception) and failure (which is often the rule) of minority students in our nation's public schools. This issue has been raised time and again by pundits and advocates across the country, which makes this book a must-read for those seeking some answers. For educators or students of education and/or psychology, this book should be required reading. For anyone interested in learning more about our nation's future-it's youth, this book should be on your next order. With our education system still suffering (and our Latino population still growing), the complex answer to the questions on what to do are offered within the pages of Nilda Flores-Gonzalez exceptional work.