Crossing the Digital Divide

As poor, nonwhite communities on “the other side” of the digital divide become immersed in electronic media, how can we evaluate their experiences to transform the teaching of writing and literature and improve student learning? This important book offers a balanced view of instructional technology and critical multiculturalism as experienced in today’s public schools. With valuable insights to help English educators at all levels working in all types of schools, this accessible volume features:

• Case studies of high-poverty secondary schools as they come online, offering an examination of the literacy practices of some of the country’s most underserved students on Indian reservations and in central cities.
• A unique approach to teaching writing and literature at both high school and middle school levels, including practical suggestions for classroom practice.
• A compelling analysis and critique of the contrasting rhetoric of American adolescent minority groups, differences in their early language socialization, and the impact of those differences on academic performance.
• A fresh angle on the public policy debate on access to technology, arguing that high-poverty schools do not have student access and, when they do, computers are used to “reform,” rather than “transform” schooling.

Barbara Monroe is currently the coordinator of English Education at Washington State University. She has taught at all levels—pre-K through college—in the United States and abroad.

“In the pages that follow, Barbara walks us through technology, computer technology, and ways of crossing the digital divide that are value rich….She shows us ways that have the potential, in her words, ‘to create a critical pedagogy for the electronic age,’”
—From the Foreword by Victor Villanueva

“This is a principled, deeply considered work that brings together insights about access to technology, cultural styles of expression, critical pedagogy, and the persistence of poverty. It should be read by all teachers who want a deeper understanding of the widening economic and social gulf between students of color and white students in U.S. classrooms.”
—Helen Fox, University of Michigan