Punished for Dreaming

I just finished Punished for Dreaming How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal By Bettina L. Love @BLovesoulpower and here are my thoughts.
I didn't know what to expect from this book but my hope was that it would show me what it was like to be a POC growing up and the hardships that were felt in a passionate and heartfelt way.

What did I learn? I learned that children in sports got scholarships to schools that they weren't educated enough to be in and they weren't expected to learn. Imagine being a non-athlete and having the grades for school but you cannot afford it. That would have been a powerful statement. That's not what I read here. I also saw that some of the most impactful people in a child's life are teachers and that comes across loud and clear here. Teachers are the cornerstone of life for most people.

Education shouldn't be based on money or athletic ability, ever. The author clearly researched this book but the political bias I saw in here was a little extreme. Both Republicans and Democrats introduced legislation that made educational changes that didn't just affect POC but anyone who was poor and that is a massive tragedy but not once did I see any political mudsling towards the democrats but a lot of right wing extremist phrases were used in this book. I would have liked a more balanced review of the politics than a biased breakdown. That's my only criticism of the book and no, I have no love for either party.

I can feel anger coming off the pages and it was understandable. I lived in the UK as a child and while my schools were mostly white, whenever a POC joined our school, they had almost a cult-like following od adoration because of their athletic achievements and don't even get me started on the girl who joined us in year 4 and the voice that came out of her..... Pure heaven. Racism wasn't anything witnessed and I was born in the 80s.

The USA has had issues with education and racism for decades, I hate to say it but I feel a certain amount of the white anger came from elites, people with money and influence, telling everyone what to be angry at. Biden is a prime example. The idea of segregated schools in the 60s angered him. I saw his ranting in an old newspaper article.... Today the POC voted for him. The whole landscape is a mess and what I do know is that humanity needs to do better on all fronts. I don't care what color you are, religion, nationality or orientation, if your heart is dark, I won't stand for it.

I'm sure most of what the author had to say came as no surprise to people in education but this book definitely could be used to start a conversation. Until people take control of their government and start spending the tax money where it belongs, nothing will change and we will have another generation of angry people with nowhere to put it.

3.75 stars rounded to 4. I would have liked some more of the human element in this book but all in all I felt I learned something.

Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy