36 Children by Herbert Kohl

             Published in 1967, 36 children is about about a white Harvard-graduate teacher's experience in a black, impoverished classroom in Harlem, in the year 1962. There was no hero's journey storyline to give a summary to, but more of an overall gist. In September 1962, Kohl started teaching class 6-1. Kohl writes about the problem of public schools, how the teachers there commonly are as uninterested and uneducated as the children. They consider these children unteachable as well, and the effects of this treatment show through their below grade level vocabulary and thinking skills. But Kohl contests that this doesn't have to be true. Throughout the book Kohl learns of how skilled the children really are. Robert, who is an amazing artist, Alvin, always excited, Neomia, transformed from quiet to loud, and more. He lets them educate themselves freely, not told limits of what to write, what is too violent, what shouldn't be told. Kohl has a bond with the children, and helps them get a voice.
              This book is similar to how still in NYC, so much later, there is still segregation. You can find majority whites in a better public school, and black children still being placed in the lower performing ones. You still find so much separation and inequality, it's unbelievable in this time of progression. New York still has one of the most segregated school systems in the US. I recommend this book to anyone who is ready for a challenge, I had to skip many hard to understand parts, and reread it. They must be ready to see hardships in the poverty of NYC, and can be interested by a long non-fiction book. The book is completely worth the read.