The Culture of Incompetence: The Mind-Set That Destroys Inner-City Schools

THE CULTURE OF INCOMPETENCE is a passionate, practical exposé of the problems and solutions facing inner-city schools today. Intimate memoirs of the author's experiences working in an inner-city district for thirty-two years bring the issues to life in a personal, poignant picture of frustration and hope.

This book is written for those people who see teaching as a mission to improve the lives of children who, through no fault of their own, do not receive the quality education that other children receive. It is for those concerned parents who drag themselves to school to visit a teacher after working the second or third shift in a factory. It is for those people who see education as a human and civil right whose quality should not be based on socioeconomic status or geographic location. It is for those teachers and administrators who bang their heads against the bureaucratic wall with occasional success. New teachers and those teachers who want to make a difference should read this book.

JOHN CARTAINA is an adjunct professor at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. He was a teacher, administrator, and district supervisor for the Paterson Public Schools in Paterson, New Jersey for thirty-two years. He resides in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina with his wife, Gloria. They have two children and two grandchildren.