The Power of One: How You Can Help or Harm African American Students

"This is the book I have been waiting for―a workbook filled with stories, data, and the latest research. In clear, beautifully written prose, Gail Thompson asks us to examine our own preconceptions and perceptions. By completing the exercises and keeping a journal, we can discover our strengths and our challenges. We are encouraged to make real changes in the way we teach and in our relationships with our African American students. This book is for all of us: new teachers, experienced teachers, administrators, mentors, community workers, and anyone who wants to help rather than harm these brilliant, hopeful, marvelous young people in our care."
―Julie Landsman, Writer, Teacher, Consultant
Minneapolis Public Schools and Art Teachers FACET Program

"A comprehensive, definitive resource for educators and all those responsible for enhancing equity, excellence, and educational achievement for African American students. Thompson has produced an engaging, solutions-oriented workbook that artfully integrates well-documented research and the right, rich blend of theoretical insights. The absence of jargon, the clarity of the writing, the substantive content, and the personal accounts of educational experiences of an array of diverse education stakeholders contribute to making this work understandable, engaging, appealing, and imaginative. Thompson′s own compelling experiences as a student and successful experience as a researcher and an educator inform the work. If I could choose only one resource, The Power of One would be number one."
―Audrey P. Watkins, Associate Professor of African American Studies
Western Illinois University

YOU have the power to make a difference with your African American students!

This interactive staff development resource helps educators deal with the main barriers―often personal assumptions or mind-sets―that can impede their progress with African American K–12 students. Calling upon readers to embark upon a personal journey to address these issues, the author skillfully combines moving first-person narratives, personal growth exercises, and informational text, and shows educators how to:

• Deal with obstacles to successful classroom management
• Foster positive interactions within the classroom
• Prepare African American students to succeed on standardized tests
• Build positive relationships with African American parents

Dr. Gail L. Thompson, Founder & CEO of Inspirations by Gail LLC, is a critically acclaimed author of many articles and books; former secondary school teacher; and former Executive Director of Equity at Illuminate Education. During her years as the Wells Fargo Endowed Professor of Education at Fayetteville State University, she created and served as Director of the Black Men Teaching (BMT) Program, and supervised doctoral students.

 In addition to creating and implementing “The Literacy Club,” an afterschool reading incentive program for struggling readers at several schools, Dr. Thompson has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including PBS Television’s “Tony Brown Journal.”

Dr. Thompson books include the award-nominated The Power of One: How You Can Help or Harm African American Students; Through Ebony Eyes: What Teachers Need to Know but are Afraid to Ask About African American Students; and Up Where We Belong: Helping African American and Latino Students Rise in School and in Life.