A revolutionary new educational model that encourages educators to provide spaces for students to display their academic brilliance without sacrificing their identities

Building on the ideas introduced in his New York Times best-selling book, For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood, Christopher Emdin introduces an alternative educational model that will help students (and teachers) celebrate ratchet identity in the classroom. Ratchetdemic advocates for a new kind of student identity—one that bridges the seemingly disparate worlds of the ivory tower and the urban classroom.

Because modern schooling often centers whiteness, Emdin argues, it dismisses ratchet identity (the embodying of “negative” characteristics associated with lowbrow culture, often thought to be possessed by people of a particular ethnic, racial, or socioeconomic status) as anti-intellectual and punishes young people for straying from these alleged “academic norms,” leaving young people in classrooms frustrated and uninspired. These deviations, Emdin explains, include so-called “disruptive behavior” and a celebration of hip-hop music and culture.

Emdin argues that being “ratchetdemic,” or both ratchet and academic (like having rap battles about science, for example), can empower students to embrace themselves, their backgrounds, and their education as parts of a whole, not disparate identities. This means celebrating protest, disrupting the status quo, and reclaiming the genius of youth in the classroom.

We are excited to be launching our 2022 Book Club selection, "Ratchetdemic: Reimagining Academic Success" by Dr. Christopher Emdin. If you haven't already, please order your copy and read it with us!

Suggested reading schedule:

  • Week of January 31, 2022 - Chapters 1-3
  • Week of February 7, 2022 - Chapter 4-6
  • Week of February 14, 2022 - Chapter 7-9
  • Week of February 21, 2022 - Chapter 10-12

Community Book Club Discussions

February 23, 2022 - Book Reflections: A Conversation with the Nzingha S. Dugas

When: Feb 23, 2022 12:00 PM | REGISTER

March 2, 2022 @ 12 PM  - Chapters1-4 Discussion

When: Mar 2, 2022 12:00 PM | REGISTER

March 9, 2022 @ 12 PM - Chapters 5-8 Discussion

When: Mar 9, 2022 12:00 PM | REGISTER

March 16, 2022 @ 12 PM - Chapters 9-12 Discussion

When: Mar 16, 2022 12:00 PM | REGISTER

 

 
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