After graduating from Yale University, Sarah Sentilles joined Teach for America and was assigned to a rundown elementary school in Compton, California. Through moving portraits of inspiring children, Sentilles relates a heartbreaking journey, as she learns about a failing school system, the true meaning of poverty in America, and the strength children exhibit when they're just struggling to survive. Beautifully written, charged with love and indignation, Taught by America is a powerful tribute to the young lives Sentilles witnessed.