Classroom Voices on Education and Race: Students Speak From Inside the Belly of the Beast

“Educators owe a duty to ensure their students are taught in an inclusive manner regardless of race, gender, or socio-economic status. Classroom Voices on Education and Race addresses head-on the perpetual marginalization of minority students within our educational system with a veracity and depth of insight that few are courageous enough to put on the record, and even fewer are willing to explore. It also provides a well rounded perspective from those who are fortunate enough not to deal with their racial identity on a regular basis and creates a foundation in which an open and honest dialogue can take root.” –Tianna Sousa Johnson, lecturer, Department of Communication & Culture, Howard University

“Outstanding teacher Dan Frio provides us with a set of compelling and extraordinary insights into the thinking and experiences of students who are forced by circumstances to deal with issues of race and racism. His recommendations for teachers and administrators, if implemented, would vastly improve the educational experience for millions of youngsters. Yet the most remarkable lessons about race and education offered by Frio come not from experts in the field but from the voices of students who candidly address the controversies and issues they confront everyday in their classrooms. Classroom Voices on Education and Race is much more than a good read; it is nothing less than a revelation.” –Jack Levin

“Classroom Voices on Education and Race makes you see teaching, parenting, and yourself in a different way. Fascinating!” –Peter Sanchioni, superintendent, Natick Public Schools, Natick, MA; former superintendent, Millis, MA; and former middle school principal

“Frio shatters the notion that simply desegregating schools will eliminate the academic and social problems associated with racial/ethnic inequalities and exposes the ‘hidden curriculum’ present within school systems. He does this while highlighting the voices of education’s most important, but often dismissed constituents–the students. From teaching to state examinations, to mitigating their results, many districts nationwide are scrambling to achieve compliance with No Child Left Behind. Could it be the simplest, least expensive yet most effective way of reaching them can be found by listening to their needs?” –Mark Liddell, METCO coordinator, Wayland High School; former middle school history teacher

“Veteran teacher Dan Frio has written a cri de coeur for an educational system that preserves and promotes student independence. Frio argues cogently for the universality of students’ needs to speak and be heard–a lesson taught him by students in a special needs classroom, on a Navajo reservation and in an affluent Massachusetts suburb. Students are the protagonists in Frio’s reflection on his career, and they teach us about the joys and perils of learning at America’s fault lines of class, race, and gender.” –Patricia Reeve, assistant professor of history and director of American studies at Suffolk University, Boston, MA

Daniel Frio has taught in racially-diverse districts for thirty-five years in urban, rural, and suburban schools, served as an adjunct instructor in education for graduate students at Northeastern University, and facilitated anti-racism interventions and workshops for school communities dealing with racism. Frio currently works with teachers at all levels on integrating human rights issues into their curricula and serves as the volunteer coordinator for the Metro Boston Race Amity Day celebration.