“This volume stands as one of the most useful and informative statements available for those seriously concerned with the full implications and eventual success of the move toward a unified school system.”
—Alvin L. Bertrand, Past President of the Southern Sociological Society
“One teacher, one classroom, one school is significant only in the key that this story gives to what is actually happening far from the eyes of television cameras or magazines and newspapers as they scream for sensation in recording the daily news. The transformation in Manie Culbertson’s attitude toward the decision of the school board and the students to whom she became quickly committed is a story you will want to read yourself.”
—From the introduction by Sue Eakin
A crossover teacher is a white educator who, to meet a court-ordered integration ratio, is arbitrarily transferred to a school where the majority of the student body is of a different race. Manie Culbertson was such a teacher. In this emotional diary, she records her thoughts and feelings throughout her semester at Glenview School, to which she was assigned. The results of her experience were completely unexpected.
About the Author
A native of Louisiana, Manie Culbertson began teaching at Vinton in Calcasieu Parish and has since taught at many other schools, including Blanchard, Northwood, Linear, and Ridgewood in Caddo Parish. For much of her career she was an eighth-grade social-studies teacher. Culbertson was named one of ten teachers of distinction by the P.T.A. of Louisiana in 1973, the first year this award was given. As a coordinator of teachers, Culbertson has helped many other educators improve their performance. Even in retirement, she spends her time continuing to contribute to the world of education.
MAY I SPEAK?
Diary of a Crossover Teacher
By Manie Culbertson
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Educators
156 pp. 8 1/2 x 5 1/2
ISBN: 9781565545489