Chapter 1. Education as Politics -- Chapter 2. “White Privilege is a Myth:” Tackling Race -- Chapter 3. “There were Christmas Trees but no Christmas:” Religion in Public Schools -- Chapter 4. “I Don’t Speak Poor:” Uncovering Social Class -- Chapter 5. “We Exist:” Gender in the Classroom -- Chapter 6. Classroom Conversations about Sexual Assault -- Chapter 7. Classroom Conversations about Gun Violence -- Chapter 8. How Do We Get There?. .

This book offers an innovative perspective on the intersection of politics, education, and social problems. It considers how we can create social change by talking about politics and social problems in more open, direct, and inclusive ways in educational spaces. Drawing on data from a range of settings, this book closely examines how and when complicated conversations take place in classrooms, schools, and communities. The book tackles a series of hot-button, timely issues, including race, religion, politics, and gender, and turns a critical eye to schools and the communities in which they are situated; the conversations adults have—and pointedly ignore—with one another; and, perhaps most critically, the politics that shape our society. Jennifer Rich is the Executive Director of the Rowan Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Rowan University, USA. Her work appears in Hechinger Report, The Conversation, The Philadelphia Inquirer, EdWeek, and The Washington Post. .