Book Reviews May 2022

Social Justice Parenting

Written by Dr. Traci Baxley

A friend of mine gave me a copy of this book, and I’m so glad that he did! Dr. Baxley is an interesting, honest, and insightful author. She has taken social justice and parenting (which makes some of us a bit uncomfortable) and delivered a book for parents and other caregivers for children. She has produced a work that not only goes straight to the heart of the American ‘legend’ that is more commonly known as American ‘history.’

Many of the ideas and strategies that Dr. Baxley espouses in her book are very much in alignment with Dr. Montessori’s pedagogical method and philosophy. She cites values such as: respect for self and others; giving children a voice; actively seeking change; problem solving as a family in preparation for problem solving in their community and country; and trusting intuition along with factual information as the main components for social-justice parenting. And she shares reallife stories to demonstrate how to put these values into practice.

“Modeling Advocacy” is just one of the chapters in this book. The author states in many of the chapters that parents (adults) in children’s lives must model through their actions the values and principles that they want children to learn and practice in their lives. She states, “Self-education, effective communication, and maintaining a support system are the keys to self-advocacy.”

One of the main characteristics of Dr. Baxley’s writing is that she lets the reader know that parenting takes conscious awareness of ourselves and others, that it can be challenging, that she has made mistakes with her own children along the way, and that we can mend mistakes and move forward. Readers will feel encouraged, develop new parenting skills, and appreciate their own commitment to children and to helping make our world a better place to live for all people.

I highly recommend this book for your adult library and for parent or faculty discussion groups. It can be purchased from amazon. com and other book sellers.

Reviewed by Lorna McGrath