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A review by rose_peterson
Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues: Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls by Monique W. Morris
3.0
I wanted to love this book. At the end, I respected it--I know it's an important step in the publishing world to have a subtitle that explicitly mentions the liberation of black and brown girls--but I didn't love it.
Morris says she will not detail the failures of the past but the successes of programs in the present, but I'm not sure she makes good on that promise. Whenever she does cite specific programs, the mentions are brief and don't provide enough detail or context to be helpful to readers. I'm certain Morris did copious amounts of research for this book, but I worry the meat of that didn't make it into the book. Instead, it felt like a string of educational buzzwords--SEL, trauma-sensitive care, ACES, restorative practices--without much meaningful exploration of how these uniquely support black and brown girls or what that unique support would look like.
I also wanted connections to the blues to be more frequent and more explicit. Other than in the underdeveloped introduction, the music form was rarely mentioned. I'd like a clearer articulation of blues elements and what their liberatory educational equivalents are.
Despite my hefty critique, I did appreciate the first half of this book in particular because it confirmed what I already believe to be true about education but need frequent reminders and validation about, especially in a time when those who suggest that elements of liberatory pedagogy, like advocating for the elimination of exclusionary discipline, can be dismissed as soft and overly sensitive. I underlined several phrases that resonated with me and refocused my teaching. However, those few gems weren't enough to carry the book.
I hope this book will serve the role of paving the way for more books like it, books that can go into greater depth and lead to more specific action to truly liberate black and brown girls.
Morris says she will not detail the failures of the past but the successes of programs in the present, but I'm not sure she makes good on that promise. Whenever she does cite specific programs, the mentions are brief and don't provide enough detail or context to be helpful to readers. I'm certain Morris did copious amounts of research for this book, but I worry the meat of that didn't make it into the book. Instead, it felt like a string of educational buzzwords--SEL, trauma-sensitive care, ACES, restorative practices--without much meaningful exploration of how these uniquely support black and brown girls or what that unique support would look like.
I also wanted connections to the blues to be more frequent and more explicit. Other than in the underdeveloped introduction, the music form was rarely mentioned. I'd like a clearer articulation of blues elements and what their liberatory educational equivalents are.
Despite my hefty critique, I did appreciate the first half of this book in particular because it confirmed what I already believe to be true about education but need frequent reminders and validation about, especially in a time when those who suggest that elements of liberatory pedagogy, like advocating for the elimination of exclusionary discipline, can be dismissed as soft and overly sensitive. I underlined several phrases that resonated with me and refocused my teaching. However, those few gems weren't enough to carry the book.
I hope this book will serve the role of paving the way for more books like it, books that can go into greater depth and lead to more specific action to truly liberate black and brown girls.