Proposes educators should focus on children's personal stories as a means to enhance dignity and, therefore, learning.

Investigates teachers' classroom personal reading histories and how they influence the development of one becoming a resisting reader/teacher.

Offers insights into the creation of more effective and empowering schools and classrooms for Black males.

This compelling examination (by a former high school teacher in Watts, Los Angeles) shows how poverty affects the lives of young people.