Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The city of Helena, Arkansas, was once the commercial center of a prosperous region. But when the middle class began to leave in the 1970s, the city began to decline. #2 In Phillips County, Arkansas, which is home to Helena, the white population mostly works at the casino or at Walmart. Their children, usually black, rarely interact with each other. #3 I was shocked by how much I changed as a teacher. I was constantly making rules that I then constantly modified. I would raise your hand, but if you cursed, you got a warning. If you put down your classmates, you got a zero. #4 I began to distrust my own system. I distrusted punishment. I was an English teacher, but I seemed to be unable to connect with my students. I gave them a video of a young state senator named Barack Obama, who had just made a splash at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.