So I like this review by Linda Perlstein (Tested, Not much just chillin’) of Paul Tough’s semi-biography of Gerald Canada. (And I love both of her books; if they were slightly shorter, I’d probably assign one or both to my foundations classes. And I already use the Tough piece from Times magazine in 2006.)

My only complaint — and it’s minor — regarding both the review and the actual project emerges from the focus on “culture.” Certainly this is Canada’s explicit project; in his own words, he’s seeking to “contaminate” the prevailing culture in Harlem, to challenge the cultural values of this 97 block area of Harlem.

I’d argue that this is misleading and unfair to many of the students. Culture emerges from larger socio-economic and political structures; these larger structures provide limits to what children and parents can attempt to do. Not impassable limits — there will always be those families who rise — but don’t talk about changing the culture when there are no jobs, when the political players mostly ignore these families, and when necessary institutions consistently fail these neighborhoods.

A discussion of culture, though, gains traction on both the left and the right. Talking about structural inequality isn’t glamorous and is all but discredited within the political process.