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"This book examines some of the many uncomfortable contradictions that a white teacher faces in a racially polarized society. Mary Dilg shows how her teaching helps her students’ discuss their racial identities in the context of the larger issues of history, power, and politics. This is another contribution to the long overdue discussion of the role of race and whiteness in education in the USA."
–Bob Peterson, Rethinking Schools
"This book will motivate and encourage teachers not just because Dilg describes her successes, but more importantly because she shares her challenges and doubts, and consequently conveys how powerful teaching is a complex and difficult but rewarding endeavor."
–James A. Banks, Series Editor
In Race and Culture in the Classroom, high school teacher Mary Dilg closely observes what happens when one teacher attempts to work with issues of race and culture in a diverse classroom. Drawing on actual dynamics in an urban high school, Dilg, a white English teacher, describes and analyzes the significant challenges and joys at the heart of multicultural education with adolescents. Unafraid to address sensitive issues, Dilg shows how educators can treat questions of race and culture in the courses they teach. She offers a framework for thinking about the processes, the dilemmas, and the benefits of multicultural education while also pointing out that a multicultural approach to education is infinitely more complex than commonly acknowledged.
Mary Dilg is an English teacher at the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago.
