When Michael Copperman left Stanford University for the Mississippi Delta in 2002, he imagined he would lift underprivileged children from the narrow horizons of rural poverty.
His frank story shows that the solutions for impoverished schools are far from simple..
His journey is of great relevance to teachers, administrators, and parents longing for quality education in America.
To them, he is at once an authority figure and a stranger minority than even they are-a lone Asian, an outsider among outsiders.
Copperman\'s memoir vividly captures his disorientation in the divided world of the Delta, even as the author marvels at the wit and resilience of the children in his classroom.
This memoir considers the distance between the idealism of the organization\'s creed that "One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education and reach their full potential" and what it actually means to teach in America\'s poorest and most troubled public schools.
Teach For America has for a decade been the nation\'s largest employer of recent college graduates but has come under increasing criticism in recent Years even as it has grown exponentially.
But he still felt like an outsider who was failing the children and himself.
He offered children the best invitations to success he could manage.
His desperate efforts to save child after child were misguided but sincere.
In trying to help students, he often found he couldn\'t afford to give what they required--sometimes with heartbreaking consequences.
He had no idea how to manage a classroom or help children navigate the considerable challenges they faced.
Well-meaning but naive, the Asian American from the West Coast soon lost his bearings in a world divided between black and white.
When Michael Copperman left Stanford University for the Mississippi Delta in 2002, he imagined he would lift underprivileged children from the narrow horizons of rural poverty
