The authors in this edited volume reflect on their experiences with culturally relevant pedagogy_as students, as teachers, as researchers_and how these experiences were often at odds with their backgrounds and/or expectations. Each of the authors speaks to the complexity and difficulty in attempting to address students' cultures, create learning experiences with relevance to their lives and experiences, and enact pedagogies that promote academic achievement while honoring students. At the same time, every author shows the clashes and confrontations that can arise between and among students, teachers, parents, administrators, and educational policies.

Chapter 1 Foreword: Looking for a Little Inspiration Chapter 2 Introduction: Clashes and Confrontations with Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Chapter 3 Opening Vignette: Recognizing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Then and Now Chapter 4 1. Unpacking the Critical in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: An Illustration Involving African Americans and Asian Americans Chapter 5 2. Race, Identity, and the Shredding of a District Survey: Following Children into Relevance in an Urban Elementary Classroom Chapter 6 3. The Central Paradox of Critical Pedagogy: Learning from Practice in an Urban "Last Chance" High School Chapter 7 4. From Understanding to Application: The Difficulty of Culturally Responsive Teaching as a Beginning English Teacher Chapter 8 Vignette: Lotus: A Pedagogy of Listening Chapter 9 5. Reading Romeo and Juliet and Talking Sex: Critical Ideological Consciousness as Ethical Practice Chapter 10 6. "'Proper' Spanish is a Waste of Time": Mexican-origin Student Resistance to Learning their Heritage Language Chapter 11 7. Bodies Before Me Chapter 12 Closing Vignette: The Distance of Formality: Working Within (and through) Propriety