Christopher Emdin, author of the New York Times bestseller For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood will discuss his new book Ratchetdemic in this virtual event at 6pm, preceeded by a book signing outside at our Saratoga Springs location from 3:30-4:30
Christopher Emdin, a bestselling author and a professor and program director at Teachers College, Columbia University, will present a virtual event in celebration of his new book, Ratchetdemic, 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.
If you have already purchased a copy of Ratchetdemic from Northshire, or the cost of a ticket is prohibitive for you, please e-mail us at events@northshire.com to inquire about a complimentary ticket.
If you have questions about this or any Northshire event, please e-mail us at events@northshire.com.
Emdin will also be at our Saratoga Springs, NY location on Thursday, September 30 from 3:30-4:30 pm signing copies of his books.
