This text is a concise history of Anglo American racism and school policies affecting dominated groups in the United States. It focuses on the educational, legal, and social construction of race and racism, and on educational practices related to deculturalization, segregation, and the civil rights movement. Spring emphasizes issues of power and control in schools and shows how the dominant Anglo class has stripped away the culture of minority peoples in the U.S. a… More >>
#1 by Anonymous on July 2, 2010 - 12:55 pm
This book gives us a lot of examples of how the minorities in this country have had their cultures altered to fit the American version. There are examples of most of the major minority groups and how the education system has played a major part in the pattern of deculturalization.This book is a must have for any student who wants to know the real history, the stuff they leave out of the text books, for any parent or teacher who wants to give their children the truth instead of white washed history, and any person who is interested in the truth.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by georgia teacher on July 2, 2010 - 2:30 pm
This book claims to give a history of dominated cultures, but it is not written like a history book at all. The dates in this book go back and forth and you can’t tell what is happening when. The different chapters are divided by races and there is no overlapping. For example: you can’t tell when African Americans are experiencing segregation in schools in comparison to Native Americans. Also chapters end without any conclusion or resolution and Spring offers a paragraph “conclusion” to attempt to tie each chapter to the preceding chapters. This is a terrible book- save your time and you money and don’t read it!
Rating: 1 / 5
#3 by Saradele on July 2, 2010 - 3:53 pm
Spring’s thesis is that white Anglo-Saxon Protestants have systematically denied educational access to ethnic minorities in order to establish and perpetuate their own system of privilege. This powerful, concise book covers historical injustices against many groups. The book falls short only when the author attempts to extend his analysis to the present day. In his understandable indignation at historical wrongs, Spring fails to acknowledge the extent to which most Americans’ beliefs thankfully have changed.
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by J. Lenz on July 2, 2010 - 5:10 pm
This book gives a very different look at the history of Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics in the United States than you may have heard before. The content is easy to read, supplemented by statistics to help aid understanding. I would recommend this book to anyone who may be going to work in the education system.
Rating: 4 / 5
#5 by R. Taylor on July 2, 2010 - 7:30 pm
i think the average minority is supposed to love centrist theory but I am amazed at how much disinformation centrist theory must create as a by product in order to sell itself.
I found this book informative on the plight of Native Americans, Asian Americans and to some degree Latino Americans (Mexican/Puerto Rican) in US educational history. Outside of the small bit of information contained therein I found several instances of information that was simply posed in very questionable light. I wondered for example how many other pieces of history, how many other peoples history are thrown under the bus in order to pitch centrist theories.
One example is his treatment of Mexicans in the US. Although very enlightening, the author poses Mexican Americans as a unique culture that was oppressed and suffered at the hands of a very narrow minded US gov’t. And of course this helps to malign the gov’t and show how much disregard for cultures they generally have. What it also did, I felt, was to present an image of Mexican culture as somehow unique and natural (not to say that it isnt natural or unique). The most amazing part was that much of Mexican history, and the foundation of its culture AS a conquered people seemed to be utterly neglected. So the notion that the territory of Mexico had been dominated by Spain for a couple hundred years (and under the banner of Christianity) paid no heed to the idea that Mexican culture was already a mix of a dominated culture and its oppressor. How could this notion possibly be featured and factored into the idea of deculturalization, as Spring puts it? I dont think it was.
Overall, I was grossly disappointed at the idea of a ’scholar’ and ‘university professor’ taking such cavalier liberties in the presentation of history, through his clear neglect of a greater and more holistic view of history. But of course, I suppose that if he were to take a more holistic view of history and present it that way it would cease to be centrist!
Im giving this book one star knowing full well that I probably should give it 3 based on the reasoning. However, I think that as an academic text it’s a poor piece work and poorly presented. I also think that it would fail to encourage the average (possibly uninformed) college level learner to do his or her own investigation of history in order to appreciate these seemingly atrocious events in the much broader context of history. If centrist theory seeks to neglect such aspects of history that are vital to a holistic understanding then its adherents should embrace such neglect consciously and should not attempt to inculcate new members/learners through blatant irresponsibility and neglect of greater truths. I think that to do this is an even greater occurrence of deculturalization!
Rating: 1 / 5