For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too

Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education

By: Christopher Emdin

Narrated by: JD Jackson

A New York Times Best Seller

"Essential reading for all adults who work with black and brown young people...Filled with exceptional intellectual sophistication and necessary wisdom for the future of education."—Imani Perry, National Book Award Winner author of South To America

An award-winning educator offers a much-needed antidote to traditional top-down pedagogy and promises to radically reframe the landscape of urban education for the better

Drawing on his own experience of feeling undervalued and invisible in classrooms as a young man of color, Dr. Christopher Emdin has merged his experiences with more than a decade of teaching and researching in urban America. He takes to task the perception of urban youth of color as unteachable, and he challenges educators to embrace and respect each student’s culture and to reimagine the classroom as a site where roles are reversed and students become the experts in their own learning.

Putting forth his theory of Reality Pedagogy, Emdin provides practical tools to unleash the brilliance and eagerness of youth and educators alike—both of whom have been typecast and stymied by outdated modes of thinking about urban education. With this fresh and engaging new pedagogical vision, Emdin demonstrates the importance of creating a family structure and building communities within the classroom, using culturally relevant strategies like hip-hop music and call-and-response, and connecting the experiences of urban youth to indigenous populations globally.

Merging real stories with theory, research, and practice, Emdin demonstrates how by implementing the “Seven Cs” of reality pedagogy in their own classrooms, urban youth of color benefit from truly transformative education.

©2024 Christopher Emdin (P)2024 Beacon Press Audio

Critic reviews

“The most important work of pedagogy I’ve read in ten years...Dr. Emdin’s humane, and more importantly, effective practices, filled me with great hope and excitement to keep engaging with the community in which I teach.”—John Warner, Inside Higher Ed

“Teaches the unlearned lesson that a hip-hop people’s critical perspective must matter in order for authentic teaching and learning to take place, but more importantly the book offers a bigger case for colleges to make room for other hip-hop scholars.”—Dr. Andre Perry, The Hechinger Report

“Dr. Chris Emdin...inspired me to become fearless while teaching for social justice.”—Bryan Mooney, contributor PBS NewsHour’s Education Lounge

Even if you are not White teaching in the “hood” this text has many gems that can be impactful in pedagogy.

I loved this text! It challenges many constructs we hold dear to traditional teaching in a way that creates an opportunity for reflective considerations to meet the evolving needs of students, particularly those who are marginalized and with disabilities.