I received a temporary digital copy of Punished for Dreaming by Bettina L. Love from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Punished for Dreaming is an excellent book. Hands down all educators should read Love's work. The thorough research gives the reader an extraordinary understanding of Superpredators and their negative impacts on American education. I was drawn to Punished for Dreaming because of the premise (from an email by the publisher recommending the book) that Love would provide next steps and as an educator, I want to know what I can do in my classroom, and at the building and district level to improve the educational experience for Black children. Love doesn't get the healing steps until the last chapter--reparations. I strongly agree with Love's suggestion, and wish there were more as I am walking away with so many more questions on how we can improve as an educational community.

Really informative book! It’s well researched, but easily digestible. Should be required reading in schools across the country.

This book needs to be a required read for anyone in the educational profession. Thank you for sharing your expertise and for shining a light on educational racism and trauma inflicted by white supremacy.

I thought this was very insightful and a good read for anyone in the profession. I would recommend. It was well researched and provided a lot of nuanced ideas.

Punished for Dreaming is an absolute must read for anyone who is an educator, or concerned with educational justice. Bettina Love clearly breaks down how education policy has failed marginalized people in the US, and lays out a path for reparations and atonement.

An absolutely essential read for educators. Dr. Love powerfully presents the evidence and results of the 40 year war on public education that's driven by white backlash and school reform and has hurt Black children most of all. Punished for Dreaming should be at the top of every educator's "to read" list, and really anybody who has a stake in the outcomes of how we educate our children.

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#PunishedForDreaming

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of Bettina L. Love’s Punished for Dreaming

This book is a must-read for any educator in the public school system. It reinforced many of my beliefs about the flaws of our public school system. More importantly, it provided insight and compelling evidence that racism is not only alive and well in the hallowed halls of our schools, it is deeply ingrained and reinforced through federal, state, and local policies that do harm to our children of color. For Black children, our schools are structurally carceral, not only inhibiting but actively denying their education.

Love’s meticulous research shows how federal policies that promised a “quality” education for all ironically named “No Child Left Behind” or “Race to the Top” have done exactly the opposite for our children of color.

Love’s anecdotal evidence mirrored narratives I’ve heard over the decades from my POC students and colleagues. School buildings in predominately Black neighborhoods are beyond neglected. In white neighborhoods where I’ve taught, neighborhood Black and brown students are suspended for infractions that would be otherwise ignored in their white peers. Black students walking home from school were pulled over and cuffed by the police because “they didn’t look like they were from the [predominately white] neighborhood. These have been my observations that I could leave at work at the end of the day and go home. For Black children and families, this is their life.

I am an aging white middle-class woman who has dedicated her life to education. I am cognizant of my privilege and have been involved in programs that build equity and equality for children of color in education. But these programs haven’t been enough. This book challenged my beliefs in a way that other books on anti-racism haven’t. It made me uncomfortable; it made me aware; it made me reflect on the profession I dedicated my life to. While I don’t necessarily agree with all of Love’s proposed solutions would be beneficial for Black - or any students, her writing has made me deeply aware that the status quo will not fix the ingrained racism in the foundations of the educational systems we have built.

This book should – and will - spark discussion on how we fix a system that badly needs fixing.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book that is important. It speaks to the systemic structures put into play, the structures that uphold the very fabric of the issues we are facing in our country. It starts with education. It starts with the school system. But it doesn't end there. Bettina L. Love writes confidently, clearly, and provides plenty of evidence to back up the points explored in this text. This book is essential for educators - whether they work within the public school system, a private sector, university, etc.

This will be a book that I purchase and add to my library.

As for the educator questions: I cannot say that I will recommend this book to my students, as they are too young to read (or grasp many of these concepts), but I will absolutely recommend to my colleagues and the families with whom I work.

A must read for educators. Excellent read and so enlightening. I will be recommending to my colleagues!!

This book should be required for educators. It is a well-rounded, evidence-based guide for cultural competence in education. There was a lot in it that I already knew and some that I could easily deduct. However, it did feel like a good refresher or reminder. Worst case scenario, you reinforce concepts that you already know. A must-read in my opinion.

Thus far: six chapters in. It's obvious this is an incredibly well researched book. But anyone who has kept themselves aware of the trends in education for the last few decades knows this. This book is being marketed as a book every educator has read. Perhaps I'm more knowledgable about things than most educators but it's not anything I didn't already know. I am hopeful though for the 'how we heal' part of the text to begin.

Finishing the book didn't give individuals much of a clear path forward and perhaps this book isn't meant to. It looks at the big picture which again may be helpful for policy makers to read. As an educator in the trenches who is very aware of all the information being presented though I was a bit disappointed. This didn't tell me anything I hadn't read before or present me with ideas that haven't been said. I'm aware that changes need to be made and I try in my own ways within my classroom and the people I interact with to make those changes. I do believe this is a valuable book for many to read, but not for those within education. We already know this. But it is a good insight for those who make policy or do not work in schools as it provides in depth information and statistics, history, and real life stories.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Macmillan Publishing for granting me this advanced readers copy.

Reading Love's book on the history of Black education in the United States was eye-opening. We know that the US has failed its Black community for centuries, but Love's work shows how, despite the resilience of Black people, we are still part of an institution that preys on and disposes of this community. Love provides an in-depth and critical history of Black education, covering topics such as "separate but equal," Brown v. Board of Education, civil rights, Reagan's War on Drugs, philanthropic money in education, and the education industry. By doing so, Love paints a vivid picture of the collective harm and racism that underlies the entire US education system.

If you finish this book with more questions than answers, that's a good thing! We need to be inspired and thoughtful and challenge what we think we know to be true. The current education system has been upholding white supremacy since before the US was founded. As educators, it is our duty to become "co-conspirators," as Love writes, and advocate for communities of color. We must work to abolish the systems that perpetuate racism and harm, and create an equitable education system that truly serves all students, regardless of their race or background.

I work in education, so this was a disheartening read, as to be expected. I admittedly had a hard time grasping all the content and will definitely be doing further research to make sure I fully comprehend all the book addresses. It's great that a light is being shined on this.

As with all of the work that has come before from this author and scholar, Bettina L. Love writes with an honest and evidence-based look at how race, culture, and identity intersect with education and equity. This is a clearly-written exploration, and one to be shared with students, educators, and policymakers. An ideal read for thoughtful professional development in breaking down systems and policies that disenfranchise.

This is the story of struggle. Layers of rugged paths overlaid with even more hardship generation after generation. It is a story of power, both great and small. Those who have the greater power fear losing it and will fight by any means necessary to retain it for themselves and their children. And those who would pull themselves up by sheer force of will and determination. Black America has been vilified, shamed, and blamed in our educational system for failures that have come from exclusionary policies. It’s time to let Black America claim the educational and financial power that generations have worked hard to achieve. By making changes that include more black representation among teachers, cultural understanding, and better funding for predominantly black schools, the wrongs of the past can be righted and the future can be brighter for everyone.

If you are not familiar with Bettina L. Love, please stop what you are doing and watch her speak - You Tube is a great resource for this!

Dr. Love is a gift to all us, and I was very excited to preview this book. Via Punished for Dreaming, Dr. Bettina L. Love provides us a well researched thesis that during the Reagan era, black students were punished and made synonymous with the idea of a problem. Similar tot the War on Drugs. Love has qualitative research as well via interviews with families, students and administrators on how policies impacted their lives. Her research and writings provide a strong argument that the policies not only impacted black families for decades but served to keep the wealthy rich and in power. I also love that Love promotes moving even past DEI and utilizing the ideas of " Community and School Reparations Collectives (CSRCs)."

Best of all, not only does Love identify past problems and events and put current issues into context, Love provides solutions for moving forward. If you are in education, or just care about the world we live in, Punished For Dreaming is for you! #Bettinallove #Punishedfordreaming #stmartinspress

Dr. Bettina L. Love gave us a gift with Punished for Dreaming and in doing so she provides us with both a quantitative and qualitative examination of how the education system in the United States harms Black children. Dr. Love provides us with extensive research on the policies and major players in the educational field that have made key decisions on who will have access to what standard of education. She also provides us with qualitative interviews with students and administrators alike in order to drive her points home and shares actual stories of how individuals, families and communities have been impacted by these political decisions meant to keep the wealthy rich.

Dr. Love honestly and eloquently speaks to the blatant "racial contract" in the field of education that functions in such a way to keep schools segregated and to keep schools in underprivileged communities under-resourced and policed by state-sanctioned violence. She ends her offering by making the case for educational reparations and providing possible examples for what this could looks like while drawing on the work of other scholars who have spoken to these types of solutions. Additionally, she speaks to the the need for a complete overhaul of the way our nation approaches DEI work and re-imagines how to move past DEI and embrace Community and School Reparations Collectives (CSRCs). These are collectives that would best advise on philanthropic and corporate efforts to aid schools.

Punished for Dreaming is a book that puts the issues of our past and present educational issues in context while also providing us with clear solutions on how to move forward. This is a book that parents, teachers, philanthropists, and politicians would benefit from reading.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!