Crazy Like a Fox

Every once in a while, we review one of the books in our lending library. Crazy Like a Fox: One principal's triumph in the inner city tells the story of the highly-unorthodox Lumbee Indian Ben Chavis who transformed California's American Indian Public Charter School from a failing, run-down disaster into one of the highest-performing public middle schools in the United States. With his rigorous no-nonsense approach, the author debunks the myth that poor, minority, inner-city students have little chance at academic excellence. Focusing on back-to-basics ideals - academics, attendance, and hard work - he has created a structured school that delivers astounding results. An American Indian who comes from humble sharecropping roots, Dr. Chavis rejects victimization and excuse-making. 

Before Dr. Chavis took over, the American Indian Public Charter School had "the goal of promoting American Indian culture while improving the academic performance of American Indians in Oakland who, as a whole, were doing terribly in school". The excerpt (p. 9) concerns Dr. Chavis' view of this approach.

"What was going on at American Indian Public Charter School was a bunch of urban, wannabe Indian nonsense. The staff were pseudo-Indians, and they were screwing up kids. They had this fantasy of 'We're gonna sit around and we're gonna play the drum and we're gonna pass the sage.' To me, there wasn't one real Indian staff member in that place. They were born in the city, had major identity problems, and didn't know much about Indians. I grew up in a small Indian community, so I don't need to go around wearing my identity on my shirt. I don't need no feathers. I don't need no beads hanging in my car. I have Indian relatives, and that is enough for me and my family when it comes to knowing who we are.

"One of the principals (there were several) who worked at American Indian Public Charter School, Chief Bad Example, often worked as an emcee at powwows. Chief Bad Example would run off to the powwows and miss school. What kind of model is set for students when the principal skips work to play Indian? The so-called American Indian image of the school was based on lies and fantasy: fake Indian names and fantasy Indian culture in the form of therapy circles."

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