How Children Learn—Getting Beyond the Deficit Myth

Fayden, an elementary school teacher who taught on an Indian reservation, argues against thinking that children who are minorities have deficits in their sociocultural background. She studied the Native American children in her classroom for five months, and presents the results here, which describe attitudes about deficits, cultural differences, and methods of instruction and curriculum. She details the history of the Pueblo Indians, considers the social construction of knowledge, symbolization in the children's interactions (such as gesturing and dramatic play), and the emergence of their use of writing. She ends with a discussion of multicultural education and recommendations for equity pedagogy. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)