Ghetto Schooling

In this personal account, originally published in 1997, Jean Anyon provides evidence that the economic and political devastation of America’s inner cities has robbed schools and teachers of the capacity to successfully implement current strategies of educational reform. She argues that without fundamental change in government and business policies and the redirection of major resources back into the schools and the communities they serve, urban schools are consigned to failure, and no effort at raising standards, improving teaching, or boosting achievement can occur. Based on her participation in an intensive four-year school reform project in the Newark, New Jersey public schools, the author vividly captures the anguish and anger of students and teachers caught in the tangle of a failing school system. Ghetto Schooling offers a penetrating historical analysis of more than a century of government and business policies that have drained the economic, political and human resources of urban populations. This book reveals the historical roots of the current crisis in ghetto schools and what must be done to reverse the downward spiral.

“Anyon helpfully returns our attention to the tougher issues of race, class and urban neglect . . . and in the process reminds us of possible solutions.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Essential reading for anyone concerned with the history and current reality of urban education.”
—The Journal of American History

“This important book is recommended for educators, sociologists, city planners, and public policy decision makers.”
—Library Journal