In the Deep Heart's Core

by Michael Johnston

Book Overview

In the Deep Heart's Core is the uplifting story of young Teach for America volunteer who becomes an English teacher in a desperately impoverished African-American high school in the rural Mississippi Delta beset by gang violence, drug abuse, ruptured families and teen pregnancy-but among the sorrow and struggle he finds dignity and hope, and works to bring the nascent intellectual curiosity of his students to full flower.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802140246
• ISBN13: 9780802140241
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Author is genuinely interested in students, education issues

I am a classmate and friend of the author at YLS and would like to refute the earlier character-attacking review from the YLS student. While I have not had the opportunity to read through the entire book myself, I have talked with the author about education issues and his book, and have found him to be highly informed. More importantly, I feel that he has a legitimate desire to improve the plight of those children from disadvantaged backgrounds through education reform.

Exactly what every student teacher should read

I read this book after an urban student teaching experience, and I think that has the ability to really open a prospective-teacher's eyes to what they are about to face. Johnston provides the reader with a realistic account of urban education and how a first year teacher deals with the milestones of adolescence.

Startling testimony from the Deep South

I was moved to tears many times while reading this book. Johnston's love for his newfound land is evident and his tender prose reads like poetry in parts. He clearly encountered countless hardships while teaching at Greenville High, but he is quick to take himself to task along with others, which shows his humility. I would recommend this beautifully written account to anyone interested in improving education in America.

A Bone-Tingling Account of Inequality in the Delta

What makes this book so uncommonly good is the author's refusal to hide behind the polite euphemisms of racial and social inequality that have for too long hampered most attempts to change the status quo in the deep South. This book's candid portrayals of hope and fear, frustration and tolerance at Greenville High make for a compelling read. Once you've started reading, you're hooked!

If you read ONE book this year...this should be it

This is one of the top 15 best books I have ever read. Its sensitivity coupled with vivid imagery and heartbreaking story are riveting. You will finish it quickly simply because you cannot put it down. Read it. Give it to your friends, teachers, former teachers, neighbors, strangers on the street. This author deserves to be read.