Learning in Public

This was one of my favorite books in recent memory. A really powerful look at parenting, education, race and progress. Highly recommend for all collections.

A well written informative look at education today.The decision on what school your child should attend what you expect of the system and your involvement in your child’s school.The author takes an important look at the divide between wealthy schools that seem to have a Caucasian population and schools with more of a minority profile,When she decides to send her child to Emerson her neighborhood school which is mostly a minority school in Oakland Ca her child was one of the few white children there and we follow her through the school year and watch her thrive and the authors involvement with other families there Perfect for discussion an excellent read,#netgalley#littlebrown

I've been drawn to non-fiction lately, and despite not being a parent myself yet, I found the premise of this book intriguing. In it, Courtney Martin reflects on her choices as a white mom in Oakland, trying to determine which school would be best to set up not only her kindergarten-aged daughter for success, but also her community at large. Segregation, school-choice, parenting, race and class structures = all major themes.

I do like a book with that "wraps up" but this one doesn't have a clean bow at the end -- I guess that's to be expected when you're reading a memoir about things that are happening in real time.

Overall, a good read! Lots of highlights and sections that made me think about how I'd act in if I were in the author's shoes.

Thanks Little Brown + Netgalley for the ARC!

LEARNING IN PUBLIC by Courtney E. Martin is a truly thought-provoking book touching on educational opportunities and the values that we espouse as a community and as individuals. She says, "in theory we value diversity, and in practice, we value whiteness." Martin, who has written several other books related to social justice, profiles her own family's difficult decision when selecting an elementary school for her daughter, Maya. Living in Oakland, California, they could opt for their local elementary school – with poor ratings and mostly Black and Brown students – or they could choose more highly rated and better resourced public schools or even an expensive private option. Martin quotes frequently from studies on education and from writers such as Eve Ewing (Ghosts in the Schoolyard) or Nikole Hannah-Jones. Although the text can feel stilted in places, she does not shy away from calling out the difficult racial undertones: "I am reading a handbook written in the invisible ink of obfuscation and maneuvering so that I might get my already deeply advantaged White kid into the best possible school, while kids with less White, less rich, less available parents are not."

With blurbs from Eric Liu (You’re More Powerful than You Think) and Noliwe Rooks (Cutting School), LEARNING IN PUBLIC is an important update that will hopefully prompt much needed reflection. Sadly, it is hard to believe it has been over 10 years (almost an entire K-12 school "career" for students) since the release of documentaries on education like: Waiting for 'Superman' and Race to Nowhere (Abeles also released BeyondMeasure in 2015). As Martin aptly notes, "Elite parenting is a process of piecing together the unwritten rules about how to advance your child through a broken system. The system itself is rarely considered."

LEARNING IN PUBLIC would make an amazing book group choice and includes suggested questions for discussion or reflection as well as a few pages of notes and list of resources (books, podcasts, organizations) for learning more.

I heard about this book from a friend of the author, and that made me a little nervous to trust the rec, but I LOVED this book. I am an educator in the city of Milwaukee, and want to press this into the hands of every single educator, and honestly, non-educator, here and across the country. Courtney Martin has excellent insights and commentary and I will be implementing things I learned from this book directly into this year's professional development.

An open and honest look at schools here in America. I liked the tone it was written in. With an open discussion about the school system and the choices parents have to make.