We Must Say No to the Status Quo
Educators as Allies in the Battle for Social Justice
It takes more than good intentions to make meaningful change
The “spirit slashing” of injustice: that’s what Veronica McDermott calls the psychic toll that marginalized students face every day. Students can be marginalized because of race, economic status, language, sexual orientation, ability, or other factors. So how can you make a difference? McDermott, a longtime educator, gives you the tools to become a powerful ally. You’ll learn how to:
- Better understand the depth and breadth of injustice so you can pierce the fog of privilege and embrace ally-hood
- Fill the gap between your desire to eliminate injustice and the attitudes and skills required to be effective
- Leverage your natural strengths, including your disposition, educational training, and professional position
- Challenge the structural barriers, practices and beliefs that diminish opportunities for many students
Working for social justice is a journey, and it’s one that you—and your students— can take together.
“Educators will find in this book a heart-felt, honest, uncompromising tour de force.”
—Yvette Jackson, Senior Scholar
National Urban Alliance for Effective Education
“This book illuminates a clear pathway for transforming our consciousness and our practice in the service of equity and social justice.”
—Gary Howard, Author of We Can’t Lead Where We Won’t Go
“Reading this book brought me back to an oft forgotten section of Martin Luther King’s 1963 ‘I Have a Dream’ speech: ‘We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now.’ McDermott reignites this urgency in a powerful, passionate, and compelling way. We Must Say No to the Status Quo is a wake-up call for 21st century educators, a must read for all of us. It illuminates a clear pathway for transforming our consciousness and our practice in the service of equity and social justice.”
"We Must Say No to the Status Quo is a great resource for those who are working for social justice in our schools. McDermott provides us with not only stories and encouragement, but a plethora of links, activities, and resources to move this important and essential work forward."
"We Must Say No to the Status Quo is a sincere and authentic book with many very concrete examples for both beginning and experienced social justice educators, with excellent tools and resources offered."
Veronica McDermott has gifted the field with an indispensable book for those educators, who earnestly want to defy the systematic intellectual and social marginalization of millions of students, including, but not limited to students of color, but who have felt ill-equipped to demonstrate their earnestness, paralyzed by their uncertainty or fearfulness of how to cross the racial and other divides (linguistic, religious, class, etc.) that pervade the United States and Canada. These educators will find in this book a heart-felt, honest, uncompromising tour de force; a path replete with the introspections, considerations and responses with which to buoy their resolve and fortify their confidence to be strategic, competent allies in the battle for social justice for our students of color - and all other marginalized students - waiting to excel!
