Chapter 2, Seeing the Student Summary and Analysis

Ayers opens Chapter 2 with a story of his youngest child, Chesa, who was adopted at fourteen months and was an easy child in his youth. He had a dogged determination, but his parents were worried his stubbornness could be a problem. However, Ayers and his wife were lucky. He then relates a story of working with ten-year-old boys in an inner city public school, asking them to give descriptions of themselves to reveal their characters to their class and the teacher.

Many teachers see some students as culturally deprived, but labeling them only deprives them more. Engaging in human-centered teaching means going beyond labels. It is hard to even know what we ourselves are deprived of, so constructing a set curriculum for deficiencies of students one does not know is impossible. Further, the whole idea...