Marva Collins offers a beacon of hope in the midst of America's educational crises. recounts Marva Collins' successful teaching strategies and offers inspirational advice on how to motivate children to fulfill their potential. This updated edition contains a new epilogue for parents and teachers. "The first things we are going to do here, children, is an awful lot of believing in ourselves." With these words, Marva Collins greets her students and opens them up to a potential many never thought possible. It is her constant "You can do it" that convinces her students there is nothing they cannot achieve. This independent-minded teacher's drive, courage, and dedication has helped her students reach high levels of accomplishment,. Her story can be any parent's or teacher's model. is a prescription for effective teaching and graphic indictment of what is wrong with much of American education today. More than just an account of one teacher's struggles and successes, it demonstrates a teacher's technique that can be applied in every classroom and home. In 1981, this book was made into the TV movie starring Cicely Tyson and Morgan Freeman.