Why examine resistance? -- "Making trouble makes it worse": theories of social reproduction -- "You're not the boss of me": resistance theory -- "This should be different": cognition and imagination at the foundation of resistance -- "Why should I try?": the motivations that drive opposition -- "What? I wasn't listening": the passive no of disengagement -- "That's not fair!": why indignation is better than resignation -- "I'm not skipping class-you are": socioeconomic reasons for resisting school -- "You don't even know me": identity and opposition in the classroom -- "Don't make me assimilate": authenticity, resistance, and racism -- "How was I supposed to know?": misreading students' relational needs -- "Is it my fault?": how we provoke resistance in the classroom -- Conclusion: resistance is hope.
Summary:
"In this groundbreaking book, Eric Toshalis explores student resistance through a variety of perspectives, arguing that oppositional behaviors can be not only instructive but productive. All too often treated as a matter of compliance, student resistance can also be understood as a form of engagement, as young people confront and negotiate new identities in the classroom environment. The focus of teachers' efforts, Toshalis says, should not be about "managing" adolescents but about learning how to read their behavior and respond to it in developmentally productive, culturally responsive, and democratically enriching ways. Noting that the research literature is scattered across fields, Toshalis draws on four domains of inquiry: theoretical, psychological, political, and pedagogical. The result is a resource that can help teachers address this pervasive classroom challenge in ways that enhance student agency, motivation, engagement, and academic achievement ... Toshalis blends accessible explanations of theory and research with vignettes of interactions among educators and students. In Make Me!, Toshalis helps teachers perceive possibility, rather than pathology, in student resistance." -- Publisher's website.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.