A review by bookwormmichelle
Learning in Public: Lessons for a Racially Divided America from My Daughter's School by Courtney E. Martin

5.0

I really liked this. Yes, the author was super introspective, occasionally cringy, definitely had some "white savior" vibes at times. But it is precisely her willingness to be honest and vulnerable (even showing a black woman's critique in places) that makes this valuable. There are a lot of white people out here who need to see this--her decisionmaking, her agonizing, how it went OK, but how she can still see the weaknesses in her chosen school. Her wanting so much to make things better, her occasionally coming on too strong, her eventual choice to focus on listening and stepping back. Her willingness to show she doesn't have it all figured out yet. No one ever told us white people aspiring to antiracism that it was going to be easy, that good intentions would promise us no missteps. Learning to listen, being willing to be vulnerable, being open to correction--these are precisely the things we NEED. This book is an exercise in just that, for all of us to learn from.