What I Learned in the Midst of KAOS is, in part, a coming-of-age story about how Dr. LaMarr Darnell Shields responded to the chaos in his life, first as a young man and student growing up on the South Side of Chicago, then as a college student and community leader, and finally as a man who became an Ubuntu teacher. The stories juxtapose his years as a high-risk male, growing up in gang territory, expelled from school, with his years as a Teach for America corps member and classroom teacher.
The book, co-authored by Dr. Marina V. Giilmore, reveals specific strategies that Dr. Shields and his team have been using to motivate, uplift, and empower boys of color for decades. These include how to tap in to their natural competitiveness and peer-sensitivity, how to structure rituals that mimic their instinctual need for hierarchy and brotherhood, and how to empower educators to find points of connection and relevancy.
Dr. LaMarr Darnell Shields is a social entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, and educator who loves to create and build with purpose. As the Co-Founder and Senior Director of Education and Innovation at the Cambio Group, and former professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, Dr. Shields has dedicated his life to inspiring adults and youth alike to pursue a higher purpose. As the Special Advisor to the Blue Ribbon Commission on Educational Equity, recipient of the 2015 Social Innovator Award, and 2016 Open Society Institute Fellow, Dr. Shields has been studying, writing about, and implementing change in schools and non-profit organizations for years.
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Recorded On: Tuesday, April 04, 2017