In his book Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind: Practical Strategies for Raising Achievement, Eric Jensen noted that he read hundreds of peer-reviewed articles each year. This is evident by the amount of research he included in Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids’ Brains and What Schools Can Do About It, and Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind.
In his first book, Jensen dives into the research about economically disadvantaged students. He synthesized the research in a way that made it digestible for teachers with limited time. He attempts to shift teachers’ thinking when it comes to students who live in poverty. If teachers shifted their mindset after reading, that is great. What is even more powerful is putting that knowledge into action. Hence, Jensen’s next book, Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind.
If teachers have limited time and can’t read both, I suggest reading the second book. You don’t have to read the first book to understand the second. Jensen still incorporates information and data from various sources. The best part about the second book is the practical strategies teachers can implement. Many strategies can be implemented by teachers the next day.
Although the books are not recent and have some URLs included that no longer work; they still contain valuable information for educators to use and immediately put into practice to increase students’ engagment.
Rating: 4/5 (Both Books)