In this inspiring and thought-provoking follow-up to his 2009 best-seller Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life, Baruti Kafele makes the case that the “attitude gap” that often affects underperforming students can only be closed if educators first help students develop the will to strive for excellence. According to Kafele, educators can achieve remarkable results by focusing on five key areas:
- The teacher’s attitude toward students
- The teacher’s relationship with students
- The teacher’s compassion for students
- The learning environment
- The cultural relevance of instruction
Replete with practical strategies and illustrative anecdotes drawn from the author’s 20-plus years as a teacher and principal in inner-city schools, Closing the Attitude Gap offers a wealth of lessons and valuable insights that educators at all levels can use to fire up their students' passion to learn.
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Author Bio
Baruti Kafele is a highly-regarded urban public school educator in New Jersey for over 20 years and has distinguished himself both as a classroom teacher and as a school principal. As an elementary school teacher in East Orange, N.J., he was selected as the East Orange School District and Essex County Public Schools Teacher of the Year. As a principal, he led the transformation of four different schools, including Newark Tech, which went from being a low-performing school in need of improvement to being recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best high schools in the United States.