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DKG NEWS Jul/Aug 2022 | Vol. 79 No. 4

2022 Educators Book Award Recipients

he Educators Book Award Committee has announced the winner and the recipients of honorable mention
Tfor 2022. Selected for the primary award of $2,500 for its educational research and potential impact on the
thoughts and actions of those in today’s complex society is Generation Mixed Goes to School: Radically Listening
to Multiracial Kids by Ralina L. Joseph and Allison Briscoe-Smith (2021, Teachers College Press, 192 pages).
Why does race play a dominant influence at school? As we see more and more
diversity in our classrooms, it is important for educators to help students of mul-
tiple ethnicities and cultures to feel welcomed, accepted, and appreciated. This
text presents a timely, well-researched topic, giving voice to the Global Majority,
those of non-European heritage. It shows how students, teachers, and caregivers

of two or more racial backgrounds may feel silenced or invisible regarding their
multi-faceted identities.
The authors describe how students and teachers need to work together to
recognize differences and perspectives. Examples include various family combi-
nations, including those of two or more communities of color. The insightful, reflective activities provided
allow for immediate transfer to the classroom. This book flows well, is enjoyable reading, and provides
new ways of viewing our multiracial classrooms. It is must read for today’s educator.
Honorable Mention

Segregation by Experience: Agency, Racism, and Learning in the Early Grades by Jennifer
Keoys Adair and Kiyomi Sanchez-Suzuki Colegrove (2021, University of Chicago Press,
224 pages).
Do classroom expectations differ for white children and for students of color? This
text challenges the status quo of schools and encourages teachers to provide more
opportunities for student leadership and classroom agency. The authors filmed a
first-grade classroom for one year and then showed the film clips to other first-grad-
ers, teachers, parents, and — 7 years later — to the students who were originally

filmed. They received differences in perceptions of a classroom’s daily operations and its ways of being
and the intriguing results when students guided their own learning. Although the text features first graders,
it can be extrapolated to apply to higher grades. Education is changing, but will we allow it to change? This
book can be an eye-opener for educators.
Honorable Mention
Emotionally Responsive Practice: A Path for Schools that Heal, Infancy–Grade 6 by Lesley
Koplow (2021, Teachers College Press, 168 pages).

In a world filled with trauma and stress, teachers need to be receptive and adapt-
able to students’ emotions. Readers can learn how to apply Emotionally Responsive
Practice (ERP) as the authors provide portrayals of classroom incidents, teach-
er conversations, and parental involvement to demonstrate effective response
methods. Teachers will appreciate the numerous activities and thought-provoking
reflections. This timely text, supported by research, provides strategies for teachers to assist children in
negotiating tensions and stress in home life, in the classroom, on the playground, and in the world.

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