History 420 – Between the World and Me Journal - Assignment #2
Dr. Gayle Olson-Raymer
Due September 20- worth 100 points

Directions: There are three parts to your journal assignment, all of which are described below. Turn in your TYPEWRITTEN responses on the day the assignment is due and be ready to discuss your responses with your classmates.

Part One - Journaling: While you are reading Coates' book, you are required to keep a very brief journal in which you will do the following:

  1. Write down any thoughts, criticisms, and/or responses to certain passages in the book. These can be brief. Be sure to include the page number for the passage to which you are responding.
  2. Fnd and write down at least 5 quotes that you believe are essential for a classroom discussion about how this book could/should inform your teaching. These should be quotes that you will want to discuss with your classmates on the day the assignment is due.

Part Two - Responding: After you are done reading the book, please spend some time responding to the following questions:

  1. How does Coates describe his relationship with school and with teachers?  What does this tell you about how you should strive to understand your students?
  2. In your opinion, what are the major themes of this book?  Describe at least two of them and then provide your critical opinion about whether or not you believe Coates has or has not backed these themes up with evidence.
  3. Do you think this book is useful reading for History 420 in terms of helping us better understand the students we may be teaching. If so, why? If no, why not.

Part Three - Extending: After you are done with the above two parts, listen to the "Democracy Now!" Podcast with Ta-Nehisi Coates at http://www.democracynow.org/2015/7/22/between_the_world_and_me_ta. Then, address the following:

  1. Did this discussion with Coates help you better understand his book? Why or why not? If it did help you, explain how.
  2. What new understanding did the interview provide about how you can better understand the students you may be teaching? Be specific when explaining your response.