Brooklyn Dreams

In Brooklyn Dreams, Sonia Nietoone of the leading authors and teachers in the field of multicultural educationlooks back on her formative experiences as a student, activist, and educator, and shows how they reflect and illuminate the themes of her lifes work. Nieto offers a poignant account of her childhood and the complexities of navigating the boundaries between the rich culture of her working-class Puerto Rican family and the world of school. Brooklyn Dreams also chronicles her experiences as a fledgling teacher at the first bilingual public school in New York Cityin the midst of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville strikeand the heady days of activism during the founding of the bilingual education program at Brooklyn College and later in establishing and running an alternative multicultural school in Amherst, Massachusetts. Along the way, Nieto reflects on the ideas and individuals who influenced her work, from Jonathan Kozol to Paulo Freire, and talks frankly about the limits of activism, the failures of school reform, and the joys and challenges of working with preservice and in-service educators to deepen their appreciation of diversity. Brooklyn Dreams is an intimate account of an educators life lived with zest, generosity, and warmth.