Lives on the Boundary

The award-winning account of how America's educational system fails it students and what can be done about it

Remedial, illiterate, intellectually deficient—these are the stigmas that define America’s educationally underprepared. Having grown up poor and been labeled this way, nationally acclaimed educator and author Mike Rose takes us into classrooms and communities to reveal what really lies behind the labels and test scores. With rich detail, Rose demonstrates innovative methods to initiate “problem” students into the world of language, literature, and written expression. This book challenges educators, policymakers, and parents to re-examine their assumptions about the capacities of a wide range of students.

Already a classic, Lives on the Boundary offers a truly democratic vision, one that should be heeded by anyone concerned with America’s future.

"A mirror to the many lacking perfect grammar and spelling who may see their dreams translated into reality after all." -Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Vividly written . . . tears apart all of society's prejudices about the academic abilities of the underprivileged." -New York TimesPreface
Acknowledgments

1. Our Schools and Our Children
2. "I Just Wanna Be Average"
3. Entering the Conversation
4. The Poem Is a Substitute for Love
5. Literate Stirrings
6. Reclaiming the Classroom
7. The Politics of Remediation
8. Crossing Boundaries

Epilogue: Lilia

Afterword
Notes
Bibliography

"A mirror to the many lacking perfect grammar and spelling who may see their dreams translated into reality after all." -Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Vividly written . . . tears apart all of society's prejudices about the academic abilities of the underprivileged." -New York TimesMike Rose is a professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. He has taught in a wide range of educational settings, from elementary school to adult literacy and job training programs. He is a member of the National Academy of Education and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Grawemeyer Award in Education, and awards from the Spencer Foundation, the National Council of Teachers of English, the Modern Language Association, and the American Educational Research Association. He also received the Commonwealth Club of California’s Award for Literary Excellence in Nonfiction. His books include Lives on the Boundary: The Struggles and Achievements of America’s Educationally Underprepared, Possible Lives: The Promise of Public Education in America, The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker, Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us, and Back to School: Why Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Education.