The title of this book, Education and the 'Hood: Four Popular Culture and Scholarly Views of American Education in Action is a contribution to the existing views on the educational system, most of which are perverted, Anglicized and aimed at being used for inclusion in various grant proposals or conference presentations. The state of American education is reflected in the low ranking of American education when compared and contrasted with education in other nations. With all of its money, resources and bombast, the American educational system is the sum total of the white people who organize and direct it. The reason for "popular culture views" is that I want to elevate the awareness of people by using approaches, perspectives and paradigms that this comic-book-oriented culture seems to understand. As a journalist I was taught that we write for an audience with an eighth grade reading level. If the majority of people realized this, they would not be so prone to tell their children and grandchildren that "education is the key to success." Popular culture is defined as, "Cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people." This means the majority. And if the majority of people in America are ignorant - which many argue - then that is what popular culture reaches out to. In return there are profits unlimited. From movies, books, television commercials and fashion to programs, projects and paradigms, there is money to be made off of American education. And if there is going to be a beneficiary, it is going to be the white system that created it. And if there is going to be a loser, it belongs at the door of students of color and the teachers who foolishly believe that they are making a difference. The first chapter is a lengthy review of a book titled, Ghetto Schooling: Ghetto Schooling: A Political Economy of Urban Educational Reform. The book raises many issues regarding the shape of schools in inner cities and many of those views are amiss. This then, will be a critique of and commentary on that book and what I view as the state of "ghetto education" today in the 21st century. The second chapter is a movie overview. The movie is "Cooley High" and it is one of the most remarkable movies ever made about high school life in the inner city. It is an emotional presentation of what far too many black kids went through in the 1960s in Chicago, but to show the lack of progress, it is clear that most of the problems confronted by Preach, Cochise and Pooter continue to raise their head today. And why is that? Because the same "man" that was calling the shot and directing the system remains in charge, that's why. Another key component of this movie is the role of the teacher "Mr. Mason" and his paternalistic role and relationship with the students in his classroom. His reminders of self-fulfilling prophecies also loom large in my analysis of this incredible movie that hit the screens in 1975. The third section of the book addresses "Education and the Silver Screen." The point made is that the American system of exploitation will take any niche group, any "target sector" and use it to generate profit. In this case, take the institution of education at the high school or collegiate level, throw in a few guns, some drugs and a little skin color and low socioeconomic status, and voila! You've got a movie that people will pay to see since the antagonists are usually kids of color and the white man comes into "save the coloreds," as usual. A key element to be analyzed is the role of violence in the urban schools and scores of movies are analyzed. The final chapter deals with what has come to be known as "multicultural education."
About the Author: Matthew C. Stelly is a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee working on a degree in Urban Education and Community Policy. He holds three Master's degrees: Urban Studies (1982), Urban Education (1983) and Political Science (2000). He is the former editor of the Milwaukee Courier newspaper, former director of the Great Plains Black Museum and the Plano (TX) African American Museum, and lead archivist for The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL) in Dallas, Texas. Stelly has more than 2,500 articles in print and has won two national essay competitions. He is the founding director of the largest African-American neighborhood group in Nebraska, the Triple One Neighborhood Association and Parents Union. He is the father of five children - Mandla, Malik, Clariece, Charisse and Shannon -- and remains actively involved in community organizing and neighborhood development in several cities, including Milwaukee and Omaha.