Taught by America

After graduating from Yale University, Sarah Sentilles joined Teach for America and was assigned to a rundown elementary school in Compton, California. Through moving portraits of inspiring children, Sentilles relates a heartbreaking journey, as she learns about a failing school system, the true meaning of poverty in America, and the strength children exhibit when they're just struggling to survive. Beautifully written, charged with love and indignation, Taught by America is a powerful tribute to the young lives Sentilles witnessed.This is a poignant, touching memoir from a natural-born teacher. The education of Sarah Sentilles is something we can all learn from.--Geoffrey Canada, author of Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun and president of Harlem Children's Zone, Inc.

"Sentilles gives a stirring description of working in one of our poorest school systems . . . [A] profoundly moving book."
-Library Journal(starred review)

"Hauntingly eloquent, this memoir raises chilling questions about race, social privilege, failing schools, and the loss of innocence. Sentilles's reflections on her students, their families, and the education they (don't) receive stays with you long after her story ends. This is a wakeup call that we as a nation cannot afford to ignore."--Janie Victoria Ward, author of The Skin We're In

"A stirring account of tragedy and transformation in American public education. Taught by America captures the way one relentless woman confronts her own privilege, suggests the impact Teach for America has on schools struggling with the effects of poverty, and finally, most poignantly, illustrates how Sentilles's students reveal her own search for justice as a kind of faith."--Michael Johnston, author of In the Deep Heart's CoreSarah Sentilles graduated from Yale University in 1995 and earned her master's in 2001 from Harvard Divinity School. She is currently working on her doctorate in theology. Sentilles lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This is her first book.