Overview

Since Joshua Steckel began work at a Brooklyn public high school as its first-ever college guidance counselor, every one of the hundreds of graduates he has counseled has been accepted to college, many to top-flight schools with all expenses paid. But getting in is only one small part of the drama of his students' stories. In a riveting work of narrative nonfiction--winner of a Studs and Ida Terkel award-- Hold Fast to Dreams follows the lives of ten of Josh's students as they navigate the vast and obstacle-ridden landscape of college in America, where students for whom the stakes of education are highest find unequal access and inadequate support. Among the ten unforgettable students we meet are: Mike, who writes his personal essays from a homeless shelter and is torn between his longing to get away to an idyllic college campus and his fear of leaving his mother and brothers in desperate circumstances; Santiago, a talented, motivated, and undocumented student, battles bureaucracy and low expectations as he seeks a life outside the low-wage world of hard manual labor to which his immigration status threatens to consign him; and Ashley, who pursues her ambition to become a doctor with almost superhuman drive but then forges a path that challenges received wisdom about the value of an elite, liberal arts education. At a time when the idea of college for all is alternately embraced and challenged, this important book uncovers, in heartrending detail, the many ways the American education system fails in its promise as a ladder to opportunity. But it also provides hope in its portrayal of the extraordinary intelligence, resilience, and everyday heroics of the young people whose futures are too often lamented or ignored and whose voices, insights, and vision our colleges--and our country--desperately need. Hold Fast to Dreams will grab you on the first page and will stay with you for a long time. It should be required reading for anyone who cares about the right to education in America.

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9781322376295

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Reviews

In the event the first lady is not in the room to offer guidance to the staffers charged with putting the White House [higher education] directives into action, somebody should slip them a copy of Beth Zasloff and Joshua Steckel's new book, Hold Fast to Dreams: A College Guidance Counselor, His Students, and the Vision of a Life Beyond Poverty. -- The Chronicle of Higher Education This is more than a heart-wrenching look at the particular struggles of 10 inner-city students. It is a profound examination of the obstacles faced by low-income students to get into and through college and the kinds of reforms needed to make higher education and the upward mobility it promises more accessible. -- Booklist A powerful story of courage and hope that should inspire others to follow trailblazers like Steckel and his students. -- Kirkus Reviews As the population of America's future college students becomes more diverse, stories such as Hold Fast to Dreams become ever so more important. -- Diverse: Issues in Higher Education I love it. It was better than a good novel. I couldn't get Santiago's dilemma out of my mind. . . . It's magnificent--thank you! --Debbie Meier, author of Will Standards Save Public Education? and founder of the Small Schools movement Hold Fast to Dreams is about the difficulty poorer students have in grasping the American dream. It is essential reading for those who care about the lives of all children. --Bob Herbert, Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos and former op-ed columnist for the New York Times Hold Fast to Dreams is not another manifesto extolling the benefits of college. In this important new book, Joshua Steckel and Beth Zasloff provide a heartfelt analysis of the factors that make it difficult for so many urban youth to access the opportunities that college provides. Drawing on years of direct experience counseling young people for whom college is little mo

Author Information

Beth Zasloff has taught writing at New York University, at Johns Hopkins University, and as a teaching artist in the New York City public schools. Sheis the co-author, with Edgar M. Bronfman, of Hope, Not Fear: A Path to Jewish Renaissance and currently directs the Midtown Workmen's Circle School, aprogressive Jewish community. She has a BA in English from Yale University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars. JoshuaSteckel is College Counselor at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies, a member of the New York City Outward Bound Schools network. He has been working as a teacher and a counselor in New York City public and private schools since 2000. He has an MSEd in school counseling from Hunter College, a BA in English from Duke University, and an MA in English from Johns Hopkins University. Beth Zasloff and Joshua Steckel are married and live with their three children in Brooklyn.

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