Three quarters of Gadsden Countys student body are black and considered economically disadvantagedthe highest percentage of any school district in Florida. Fewer percent than 15 percent perform at grade level. An idealistic new teacher at East Gadsden High, John Nogowski saw that the Department of Educations techniques would not work in this environment. He wanted to make an impact in his students lives. In a room stacked with battered classicsA Raisin in the Sun, To Kill a Mockingbirdhe found 30 pristine, quarantined copies of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Abused by an alcoholic father, neglected by his community, consigned to a life of privation and danger. Wouldnt Huck strike a chord with these kids? Were he alive today, wouldnt he be one of them? Part lesson plan, part memoir, Nogowskis surprising narrative details his experience teaching Twains politically charged satire of American racism and hypocrisy to poor black teens.
