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sprigplantar's review
5.0
I loved hearing from each girl about her experience in the educational system. I also enjoyed how Morris brought up better alternatives instead of leaving on a bleak reality. Educating isn't only about learning the history and backgrounds, but also learning how to do and be better.
kevin_shepherd's review
5.0
“The drive to cast contemporary America as a colorblind society impairs our ability to recognize two important phenomena: the persistence of segregation and how it shapes the identities of black girls, and the impacts of systems that reproduce and reinforce unequal access to educational opportunity.”
Black girls are often characterized by their teachers and educational administrators as more active and less conforming than their white counterparts. Consequently, they are frequently addressed more critically and less supportively. Simple acts such as asking questions or speaking out of turn can be seen as disruptive disobedience. The disallowance of classroom interaction shuts down the voices of black girls and reinforces their negative associations with education and authority.
Adding insult to injury, Black girls are triply oppressed: they are oppressed as women in a patriarchal society, they are oppressed as beings of color in a culture of white superiority, and they are very often oppressed as poor and impoverished in a capitalist hierarchy. Frankly, the only thing more challenging than growing up poor, black, and female in America is growing up poor, black, female, and gay in America.
“The current practices and prevailing consciousness in homes, neighborhoods, schools, and other places young people occupy regularly respond to black girls as if they are fully developed adults and in turn their responses to their mistakes follow a similar pattern. Society treats them this way and our girls believe the hype. And when they do, adults ignore the power dynamics that affect youthful decision making.”
These young women of color deserve educators who do not see them as inferior. They deserve something more than zero tolerance disciplinary policies aimed at adolescent and preadolescent demographics. We are failing them by systems of academic suspension and expulsion. We are failing them by lowered expectations that, effectively, grant them permission to fail.
Monique Morris has authored an eye opener. Published in 2015, her statistics show trends that continue to this day—black girls are disproportionately suspended from our schools, disproportionately expelled from our schools, and disproportionately detained and/or incarcerated in our juvenile justice institutions. This book should be required reading for every educator, educational administrator, and detention facility staff member in America.
“The education of black girls is a lifesaving act of social justice… There are no throwaway children. We can and must do better.”
Black girls are often characterized by their teachers and educational administrators as more active and less conforming than their white counterparts. Consequently, they are frequently addressed more critically and less supportively. Simple acts such as asking questions or speaking out of turn can be seen as disruptive disobedience. The disallowance of classroom interaction shuts down the voices of black girls and reinforces their negative associations with education and authority.
Adding insult to injury, Black girls are triply oppressed: they are oppressed as women in a patriarchal society, they are oppressed as beings of color in a culture of white superiority, and they are very often oppressed as poor and impoverished in a capitalist hierarchy. Frankly, the only thing more challenging than growing up poor, black, and female in America is growing up poor, black, female, and gay in America.
“The current practices and prevailing consciousness in homes, neighborhoods, schools, and other places young people occupy regularly respond to black girls as if they are fully developed adults and in turn their responses to their mistakes follow a similar pattern. Society treats them this way and our girls believe the hype. And when they do, adults ignore the power dynamics that affect youthful decision making.”
These young women of color deserve educators who do not see them as inferior. They deserve something more than zero tolerance disciplinary policies aimed at adolescent and preadolescent demographics. We are failing them by systems of academic suspension and expulsion. We are failing them by lowered expectations that, effectively, grant them permission to fail.
Monique Morris has authored an eye opener. Published in 2015, her statistics show trends that continue to this day—black girls are disproportionately suspended from our schools, disproportionately expelled from our schools, and disproportionately detained and/or incarcerated in our juvenile justice institutions. This book should be required reading for every educator, educational administrator, and detention facility staff member in America.
“The education of black girls is a lifesaving act of social justice… There are no throwaway children. We can and must do better.”
bucklace27's review
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Trafficking
Moderate: Bullying and Rape
kayla_reads_'s review
4.0
Cannot recommend the audiobook version of this enough. The narrator does an excellent job of capturing sentiment, attitudes, characters, etc. Overall I felt it was pretty repetitive in parts but what an important message.
megryanreally's review
5.0
In a society where the victim is often decentered, retraumatized, and pushed out, we've lacked awareness of our criminalization and retraumatizing of black girls in our school systems. This is a must read for all school leaders and educators, providing a comprehensive overview of the treatment of and a call to action for our young black girls, from healing-informed responses to perceived problematic behavior such as dress code violations, to responsive and de-biased learning and teaching that responds out of love rather than fear. We must teach our kids more than books-- healthy relationships modeled between teacher and student and protecting our girls from further violence and victimization in schools--supposedly a refuge-- is a must.
destinylmw's review
5.0
This explores the factors contributing to the school to prison pipeline for young girls. This was very informative with both interviews evidence and statistical data to support her arguments. I recommend this especially for people who work with students.
thecamilleae's review
4.0
This is a valuable resource for folks seeking a deeper understanding of the challenges that Black girls experience in school that create a pipeline to prison and other forms of detention. Racism, misogyny, sexual abuse and harrassment...the list goes on and one. The book contains reflections from girls and how they survive these experiences. Good book for policymakers and grantmakers who are in positions to use their power to influence positive change in the lives of Black girls.
emarkovitz's review against another edition
Needed to step back from dense nonfiction. Moved to a memoir, then fiction.