Description
Book SynopsisA Brill Sense Bestseller! What if everything you thought you knew about Black people generally, and educating Black children specifically, was based on BS (bad stats)? We often hear things like, “Black boys are a dying breed,” “There are more Black men in prison than college,” “Black children fail because single mothers raise them,” and “Black students don’t read.” In No BS, Ivory A. Toldson uses data analysis, anecdotes, and powerful commentary to dispel common myths and challenge conventional beliefs about educating Black children. With provocative, engaging, and at times humorous prose, Toldson teaches educators, parents, advocates, and students how to avoid BS, raise expectations, and create an educational agenda for Black children that is based on good data, thoughtful analysis, and compassion. No BS helps people understand why Black people need people who believe in Black people enough not to believe every bad thing they hear about Black people.
Trade Review"As a member of the Little Rock Nine, I know firsthand how racial discrimination and segregation damages schools and harms millions of Black learners. Dr. Toldson is an education activist for this century who skillfully blends academic prose with sharp wit and human sensibilities to challenge wayward thinking and stimulate innovation. We need to stop the BS driving education policy by reading No BS!" – Ernest Gideon Green, member of the Little Rock Nine (1957) "Toldson brings science, common sense and passion to bear on an issue on which too many of us have given up. To know Black youth is to recognize their ability to learn when given appropriate opportunities. This is a book well worth reading." – Edmund W. Gordon, PhD, John M. Musser Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Yale University "No BS is the book the HBCU Community has been waiting for! For those committed to educating students of color, Toldson’s intellectually honest, data driven analysis is a breath of fresh air. This seminal work should be required reading for anyone who is sincere about educational access and equity." – Roslyn Clark Artis, JD, EdD, President, Benedict College "Ivory Toldson, with his cleverly entitled book No BS, is at his best with real talk and real data. He is my numbers scholar. This unique book debunks myths and lies to improve excellence and equity for students of color." – Donna Y. Ford, PhD, Professor of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University "No BS (Bad Stats) is an instant classic! Dr. Toldson masterfully guides the reader through an intellectually invigorating thought-process that debunks the BS (Bad Stats) about Black students to illuminating a pathway for academic success and life transformation. I highly endorse this much-needed contribution to the field of education!" – Chance W. Lewis, PhD, Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Urban Education, University of North Carolina at Charlotte "Everything is good about No BS. In an era where ‘alternative facts’ have entered our lexicon, Ivory Toldson lays out the real data, facts and statistics about what's really going on in the Black community. He also provides keen insights and evidenced-based strategies on how to craft an agenda to empower Black students to realize all of their potential. Terrific book!" – David Wilson, PhD, President, Morgan State University
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Part 1: No BS (Bad Stats) Chapter 1: No BS (Bad Stats) Numbers Are People: The Achievement Gap as a Social Construct A Duboisian Framework for Educational Equity Discovering the Talented Tenth Chapter 2: The Happy Bell Curve Story of My Life BS Funny Numbers The Happy Bell Curve Why Not Trust Objective Research on Black People? Chapter 3: More Black Men in Prison Than College Introduction The Dubious Basis for the Line, “There Are More Black Men in Jail Than in College” The Overrepresentation of Black Men in Prison Continues to Be a Problem Starting a New Agenda to Increase College Persistence and Reduce Incarceration for Black Males Conclusion, Context, Dissection and the Surge of White Women in Prison Chapter 4: Black Students Don’t Read Introduction Failing Black Students Separating Tests from Test Takers Learning How to Read Making a Difference Why Public Schools Are Confused – An Afterthought Chapter 5: Black Students Are Dropping Out Introduction Related Findings Chapter 6: Single Parents Can’t Raise Black Children: What if the Single Parent Was White? Introduction Do Black Children from Two-Parent Homes Perform Better in School? Single Parents and Incarceration – Response to a Message Chapter 7: Smart Black Students Are Acting White Introduction What Black Students Think about Being Smart What Black Students Think about College What Black Students Need to Be Successful in School Conclusion Chapter 8: Black Male Teachers Are Missing Introduction Black Male Teachers – Separating Facts from Myths Why Are Black Male Teachers Important? When Teachers of Color Are Missing, Check Racism First Chapter 9: Waiting for Super-Predator Introduction Law and Disorder in Schools for Black Children Why We See Young Black and White Criminals Differently When Schools Became Prisons The Existential Crisis of School Resource Officers Creating More Opportunities for Black Students The Inner City – An Afterthought Part 2: Why We Believe Chapter 10: Why We Believe Why We Believe – An Afterthought Chapter 11: Believing in Black Parents Introduction What Schools Need from Black Parents? What Do Black Parents Need from Schools? Building Partnerships between Black Parents and Schools Black Marriage – An Afterthought Chapter 12: Believing Black Students Are College Bound Introduction Debunking the BS about Black College Students Why We Believe Black Students Are College Bound Chapter 13: Believing in Black History Who Are Black Americans? Dear Racism, I am Not My Grandparents How to Teach about Slavery without Looking like a Jerk When Black History Is a Current Affair Chapter 14: Believing in Black Students with Disabilities How Black Students with Disabilities End up in Honors Classes? 132 How Black Students without Disabilities End up in Special Education? What Does This All Mean? I Don’t Get it … – An Afterthought Chapter 15: Believing in Fair Discipline for Black Students Introduction Discipline Data Civil Rights Data Collection Analysis of Who Gets Suspended Why Black Students Get Suspended More How Can We Reduce Suspentions? Chapter 16: Believing White Teachers Can Teach Black Students Introduction Education in Black and White Who Makes up the U.S. Teaching Population? So, What if Most Teachers Are White? White Teachers Need to Become Better White People Beyond Black and White The Problem with School – An Afterthought Chapter 17: Believing in Black Colleges Introduction Debunking the BS about Black Colleges HBCUs and STEM Linkage to Theory and Research Believing in HBCUs 65 Years after Brown v. Board of Education: How Important Is Integration? – An Afterthought Being an HBCU Scholar Chapter 18: Believing in Black Students About the Author
