A book published in 2002 offers a glimpse into the struggles of the first American Indian community-controlled school--Rough Rock Demonstration School--struggles that took place both within the community and with the federal bureaucracy. The conflict between self-determination in the development of a linguistically and culturally relevant…

This book chronicles how a group of migrant workers in Cobden, Illinois, developed their own hybrid writing system that used the Spanish alphabet to capture English speech sounds. The event illustrates Freirean ideas about literacy and power and offers lessons for improving English instruction. (TD)

This book assembles a wide range of research on children's language development, interprets it with analyses of how bilingualism affects that development, and, above all, breaks the myths surrounding bilingualism and bilingual education. The urgency about introducing language minority children to English immediately in schools, and about…

The book reviewed presents a thorough literature review supporting the use of children's first languages in schooling. Criticisms of the book relate to the equation of fluency with academic language and the implication that academic language holds a superior position to other language registers. Discussion of transformative pedagogy fails to…

Reviews an anthology that provides undergraduate and graduate students with theoretical and practical discussion on various ideological convictions in the fields of multiculturalism and bilingual education. Discusses theoretical conflicts and ideologies affecting the field of multiculturalism, and the more immediate effects of politics on teaching…

Reviews a book that analyzes the 1970s political takeover of the Crystal City (Texas) school board, city council, and county offices by radical Chicano activists; district-wide establishment of maintenance bilingual education; internal and community divisions that followed; and eventual abandonment of the innovative programs. Points out the links…

Reviews a book on the politics of educational change in Nicaragua, 1979-93. Following the revolution, the Sandinistas drastically revised curriculum and methods of instruction. However, when they lost political power, education in Nicaragua became contested terrain marked by fierce ideological debates, eventually rendering educational reform a…

Reviews a reference book for educators and librarians that critiques over 1,000 multicultural children's books and explains criteria for selecting such books. The book includes chapters, organized by grade level, on African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American children's literature, plus 14 additional chapters covering…

Reviews a book that focuses on the sociocultural nature of both first- and second-language acquisition and on the importance of the school maintaining and developing the language and culture of students' families and local community. The book contains many practical suggestions for teachers working with language-minority children, including such…

Reviews a book that provides an understanding of the lives of individuals living in two cultural worlds, while at the same time defusing misinformation and skepticism concerning bilingual approaches to education. The book offers many theoretical and practical classroom suggestions as it advocates strengthening first-language literacy in order to…

Reviews a book that emphasizes the role of families in maintaining minority languages and, ultimately, cultures. The book sees efforts to preserve and restore minority languages as societal reform efforts that lead to appreciation of other cultures as well. Three sections cover introductory considerations, case studies of threatened languages, and…

Criticizes the book reviewed as a right-wing policy potboiler. Rebuts five main claims that devalue bilingual education and affirmative action while assuming that all Hispanics strive for the goal of measurable individual attainment, even at the cost of communal and cultural impoverishment. Suggests that the book glorifies the immigrant good old…

Reviews a book that thoroughly synthesizes information about the education of students who, although placed in regular English-speaking classrooms, do not have a thorough command of English. Based upon the 11 themes that guide the chapters, a coherent framework is developed for teachers working with language minority students. (TD)

Reviews a book that documents the rise of the English-only movement in the 1980s and examines historical and sociocultural factors shaping the movement, potential effects of an official language on constitutional rights of language minorities, anti-immigrant sentiments and America's obstinate monolingualism, and the ongoing battle for equal rights…

Reviews a book that describes the experiences of a white teacher of creative writing in American Indian classrooms. The book recounts the teacher's successes in encouraging his students to write poetry, examines his relationships with his students and their community, and offers lessons about crossing cultural boundaries and the rewards to be…