Foreword Michelle Fine - xi
Acknowledgments - xv
Introduction - 1
1. “Unlivable Conditions”: Health and Housing - 13
“Where the Rats Come Out”: Slumlord Neglect - 15
“Silent Killers”: Mold and Asthma in Public Housing - 17
“Where Are We Going to Wind Up?”:
The Trauma of Foreclosure - 23
“As If They’re Passing Away”: Gentrification - 26
“We Have a Petition”: Speaking Out and Taking Action - 31
2. “They Put Us Down When We Already Down”:
Police and Juvenile Justice - 34
“He Starts Grabbing Me”: Student Perspectives on Policing
in and out of Schools - 35
“It’s a Memorable Moment”: Stop-and-Frisk Policing of
Students in the Community - 38
“All My Youth Was Locked Up in Prison”:
Juvenile Incarceration and the War on Drugs - 40
“He Never Got to Meet Me”:
Growing Up with Incarcerated Parents - 42
“Their Wrists Are Too Small, So You Have to Handcuff Them up by Their Biceps”:
Zero-Tolerance Policing In School - 46
“I Was 15. Came Home at 25”: Juvenile Detention in Rikers - 50
“On the Side of the Kids”: Restorative Justice and
Student Action - 52
3. “The Legal Right to Be Somebody”: Immigration - 56
“Fearful of Any Institution”:
Challenges Facing Emergent Bilinguals - 57
“In the Desert, the Mountains, the Cold—
With Only Water”: Border Crossing Stories - 59
“I Was Doing Really Bad”:
A Downward Educational Spiral - 63
“She’s Barely Home”: Labor Exploitation
and Parent–School Engagement - 67
“Not Having a Dad”: Deportation and Forced
Single-Parent Homes - 70
“He Never Went to School”: A Climate of Fear - 74
“I Was Empowering My People”: Student Immigrant Rights - 76
4. “People Are Strong When They Stand Together”:
Gender and Identity - 81
“I Never Went Back”: Bullying and Anti-LGBTQ Violence - 83
“Get the Hell Out!”:
Family Rejection and LGBTQ Homelessness - 87
“The Place for Me!”:
Inclusive School Cultures and Legal Silencing - 89
“I Never Talked with Anybody About This”:
Sexual Harassment - 93
“Being the Sexy Girl”:
Body Image and Self-Objectification - 97
“I Look Fat”: Body Image and Eating Disorders - 101
“Save a Kid’s Education”: Girls Support Groups
and Genders & Sexualities Alliances - 104
5. “Some Place to Call Home”:
Foster Care and Child Welfare - 108
“They Stole 10 Years from Me”:
The Trauma of Family Separation - 109
“The System Failed Me”: The Disproportionate Academic
Impact of Foster Care 111
“Welfare Queens”: The Criminalization of Poor Black Mothers - 117
“She Could Not Take Care of Herself”:
Parental Substance Abuse - 121
“Not Me, Not Mine”: Aging Out and Youth Advocacy - 124
Conclusion “I’ve Got Your Back”: Moving from Trauma
and Resilience Toward Student Activism - 129
“Sites of Possibility” - 131
“A Knock on the Door”: A Sign of the Times - 132
“Where We Want to Be”: Youth Participatory Action Research - 134
At the Screening: Parting Thoughts - 140
Guide for Using Videos - 143
Notes - 159
References - 163
Index 179
About the Author - 190

About the Author

Steven Goodman is founding executive director of Educational Video Center (EVC), a nonprofit youth media organization in New York City dedicated to teaching documentary video as a means to develop the artistic, critical literacy, and career skills of young people. He is the author of Teaching Youth Media: A Critical Guide to Literacy, Video Production, and Social Change.

Reviews

"From a teacher education point of view, this book is a valuable resource for courses...This book makes important connections for educators, spelling out why it's not accurate to focus solely on the inner resources of low-income students, and describing the history of systemic societal problems that influence this population's educational experiences, such as housing and immigration policy. The documentary clips that are provided as links throughout the book will help these issues come alive in the classroom, and the guide that is included at the end of the book will support productive conversations." -- Teachers College Record

"Goodman evokes a strong sense of empathy in the reader...Thorough and well-researched chapters are accompanied by powerful video clips and anecdotes from Goodman's own students at the EVC. Goodman, from a place of vigor and empathy, advocates for open discussion between students and teachers, inquiry and community-based learning, and more frank acknowledgment of the societal barriers marginalized students face." --Journal of Social Studies Research

"Informative, insightful, thoughtful and thought-provoking, It's Not About Grit is very highly recommended as an addition to school district in-service teacher training curriculums, as well as college and university Teacher Education instructional reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists. --Wisconsin Bookwatch

Table of Contents

About the Author

Reviews