A 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.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements 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