Thanks to NetGalley for an ALC. I don’t even know what to say about this. In many ways it made me feel better about my own teaching practice, as some of the things that happened here were truly abhorrent. At the same time, it made me question my own unintended behaviors and comments, and how those things can affect children.

4.25 🌟 rounded down

After sitting with this book for a few days, I ultimately had to rate it a 4 instead of a 5. This was mainly because while I found the information presented to be very important for everyone, the ending was frustrating.

Slow Violence is described as "A powerful exposé of the American public education system's indifference toward marginalized children and the 'slow violence' that fashions schools into hostile work and learning environments." And it is just that. Ranita Ray spent years observing students in classrooms within a Las Vegas school district, refraining from interference. What she witnessed was quite shocking, yet not surprising.

The school has a predominantly minority student body, but a majority of the teachers are white. Most of these teachers have a white savior complex and don't seem to realize or care about their own biases and inappropriate behaviors towards the students. Some of the quotes Ranita Ray witnessed were abhorrent. I saw some reviews mention that she should have gone to different schools, but I disagree. She would not have seen the level of 'slow violence' against the students had she switched schools frequently.

My frustration stems from the book's ending. I realize Covid-19 interrupted Ray's research (amongst millions of other things), but you're left high and dry at the end. She has no follow-up with any of the students today, even though they're now 18+ years old. (Surely she could have figured out how to contact at least one of them?) There are a few teacher updates, and thankfully, many of the worst ones ended up leaving the profession.

But that's it. The reader is left wondering...what the hell are we supposed to do with this information? This all seems terrible, but I have no idea how to fix any of these issues, or even where one would begin to do so. Paying teachers more is a good start; maybe then they'd be less stressed out and less inclined to take out their frustrations on innocent students.

Lipica Shah does the narration for the book and does a great job. She has a clear speaking voice. I would listen to other books narrated by Shah.

Recommended for anyone interested in the concept of "slow violence" in our public school systems, educators, administrators, etc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

If you're in the field of education, a parent/caregiver, a policymaker, or simply someone who cares about schools and children, then this book is a must-read.

“Children don't only deserve love and care so they can excel academically; they deserve it because all people deserve to live freely and seek joy. All children deserve to be recognized, loved, and cared for—especially by the teachers with whom they spend the majority of their waking hours.”

In the years leading up to the pandemic, author and sociologist Ranita Ray spent extended time observing two public elementary schools in Las Vegas—specifically in 4th and 5th grade classrooms that served predominantly Black, Brown, and immigrant students. Over time, she built relationships with teachers, principals, and students. What she found was both alarming and deeply unsettling.

Ray opens by acknowledging that teaching is grueling work. Teachers are underpaid, overworked, and often sacrifice time with their own families to meet the relentless demands of the job. Still, what she uncovered reflects some painful truths—not new, but no less disturbing.

Many of the teachers Ray observed, while professing love for their students, saw themselves as saviors. They spoke disparagingly about students’ families and home lives, sometimes even in front of the children. On good days, these same teachers could be warm and caring—but their demeanor could shift in an instant. They could humiliate children, stripping them of dignity. Despite having received DEI training, it was clear many had not internalized it. Their unconscious biases remained unchecked.

Ray calls this pattern of subtle, persistent harm "slow violence"—a term that captures the psychological and emotional toll such treatment takes on children. This kind of stress not only crushes self-esteem and dampens motivation to learn; it can also harm developing brains.

This book, published just yesterday, is powerful, timely, and essential. I’m grateful to #NetGalley for both the audio and written ARCs—I read both formats, often rereading passages that struck a chord. As a veteran educator, this book deeply resonated with me.

Like Ray, I don’t seek to bash teachers -- I am a teacher, myself. Teaching is among the most noble of professions, and teachers deserve far more support than they currently receive. But this book is a reminder: educators must continuously reflect on their actions—and hold each other accountable—lest their unchecked behavior inadvertently harm the very children they are called to uplift.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for providing this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

As a teacher gave me a lot to think about. As a once little puerto rican girl being raised in the early 2000s public school system, this felt familiar and validating.
Thjs is a book I think everyone involved in the school system should have as required reading. Students, teachers, and parents all stand to learn a lot, and hopefully grow, from this book. At times the book was hard to get through, it was very difficult for me to listen to stories about these children having their spirit and joy beat down and broken. It was horrifying to hear how some of these teachers thought of themselves as truly good people and saviors, though it is sadly not a thought process I am unfamiliar with. As a teacher I know I will be reflecting on this book and the stories within its pages for years to come, and I can only hope to be a better teacher for it.
Both the writing and the narration were powerful and helped weave a complete story of injustice and hope. Being so brusquely cut off by COVID felt poetically honest to how it felt in those days, though I can't deny that I was disappointed to not get the chance to follow the students a little deeper into their middle school journey. I can only hope it went smoother than elementary.
I hope every student featured is thriving right now.
4.25/5

A sociologist researches a school district over 3 years, following a class of 4th graders through middle school, and uncovers systemic racism in schools that is used against the children. As a former teacher myself, I couldn't get past the initially broad strokes I felt were being painted. Maybe in this district there were more teachers who used a provisional license to teach, but there were many more that went into teaching for the right reasons. Maybe in this district she saw those attitudes but hopefully it isn't that way everywhere. As I listened to the audiobook, I thought about conversations among teachers to blow off steam, or challenging classrooms that eventually wear teachers down. I can see that this is an epidemic, and that there is real reform needed. Teachers are only human, and will make mistakes, but there needs to be accountability for some of the actions described in this book. If such discrimination is happening in a random school sampling, it is likely more common than thought.

I see both sides of the argument, but some of the teachers' words and actions were inexcusable. I hope this research is read by teachers in every district.

Slow Violence by Ranita Ray tackles deeply important issues in the American public school system, shining a light on the emotional and psychological harm marginalized children face every day. The stories of students like Nazli, Reggie, Nalin, and Miguel are heartbreaking and revealing, and Ray’s dedication to amplifying their experiences is commendable.

That said, the book just didn’t pull me in the way I expected. Despite the powerful subject matter, I found the writing to be dense and not very engaging. I often had to put it down and take breaks—it felt more like reading an academic article than a narrative-driven exposé. I was hoping for something that would grip me emotionally and intellectually, but instead, it was hard to stay focused.

This book has a powerful message and a necessary perspective, but for me, the delivery made it a bit of a slog. Worth reading if you’re deeply interested in education reform or sociology, but probably not the best fit if you’re looking for something more accessible or story-driven.

Ranita Ray is a sociologist who followed a group of students from 2017 to early 2020. These students were in 4th grade when the observations started and Ranita Ray used her time in the classroom to document what she saw. With unfiltered access Ranita Ray uses her experience and notes to pen a book about what bias looks like inside a classroom, even when the school is provided extra resources and training so that it can combat the trauma experienced by its students.

Let me preface by saying this, I believe in the principals of public education. I am the product of public education and I chose to send my daughters through public education. I am a relatively average white woman who lives a middle class lifestyle. Our local school district is predominately white as is the 9,000 teachers and staff across 86 schools. With that out of the way, I'm going to need Ranita Ray to be a whole lot louder.

The experienced felt by these students; from being too much to how one bad choice influences the way your teacher treats you, to having students mirror the bullying of the teacher to racism and sexism. It all exists in our world, we have got to stop pretending like it doesn't exist in our schools. With the students starting in the 4th grade I have to admit I was a bit triggered; my eldest daughter (who is white and privileges) was placed with a teacher who academically abused her because of her dyslexia. That same child is now going into her junior year of high school and still lives with the scars of that year---even with a parent who volunteered 1,000 hours a year, even though I had her pulled and moved before the school year was over, even with all of the extra help and privilege, it only took 1 teacher to cause self doubt and self hatred. And she was white; I can not imagine how much worse it would have been for her if she wasn't. As I said, I was an active parent in her education and the things Ranita Ray witnessed inside the classrooms were the same things I saw from my role as a parent volunteer.

One might ask why I kept my kids in public education and to be honest, that is a question I still ask myself. If I had to go backwards would I have still done it? Maybe.

Public education suffers from a lack of funding. Teachers suffer from a lack of support. And our most vulnerable students come to school with a mountain already on their shoulders. Slow Violence will be controversial and teachers will take it as an attack on a profession that is getting beaten and battered by right wing conservatives. However, the system needs an overhaul, because our children---out very future---deserve better.

Narrator Lipica Shah comes across as editorial in their tone while narrating the story, and I think that was a really good choice because this is such an emotional and deeply impactful story on it's own. I really thought it was an easy audiobook to get into; even though the subject topic was so heavy.

Every teacher isn't bad, but as shown in Slow Violence, it only takes one bad teacher to alter the life of a student.

As an educator about to start my fifteen year and my second year as a public school teacher, I was very interested in reading this book because I wanted to read about the problems my students could have faced in other schools including poor treatment at the hand of other teachers before they get to me. While I did discover is that some students do experience problematic treatment in the classroom. While the stories were engaging, I did not find the level of professional insight and presentation of research that I expected. I could spend hours writing about potential biased findings that I found within this book, but much of those findings are based on my personal view that teachers can and in some cases should be change-makers in their community. While I do think that the experiences of this author are genuine, I do believe that her life experiences and bias showed greatly in this book. With that said, I would recommend that teachers and professors read this book. I think that it would provide a great opportunity to converse about the state of the American educational system.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was an emotionally hard read which is exactly why I think people who work in the educational system should read this- especially if they are a white teacher or staffer. Part of what made this book such an emotionally painful read was that I had done some reflecting on the slow violence I committed through my work in residential treatment and their own schools.

Slow Violence is a sharp and realistic look at how racism, pity, and dehumanization play out in our schools every day.

The content of the book is well laid out with each chapter following specific relationships or events between the children and their teachers as well as how those relationships changed over the school year. That made it much easier to follow and see the slow violence play out on the children than if a whole school year was presented at once.

I have not read anything narrated by Lipica Shah before but plan to seek out other books read by her in the future. A warm and clear voice that presented the information clearly while also slightly changing her voice for various adult and children’s lines. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA.

*Thank you NetGalley for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review

While the author spent 3 years in one Las Vegas district (one elementary for 2 years and a middle school for 1) the book cover a very thin slice of the American Education System. A few teachers, a handful of students and a couple of administrators behaviors, practices and actions do not define or represent everyone. The assumptions made and the criticism expressed by the author may be valid, but across the country schools are not adequately funded and teachers pay is not in line with the extremely difficult work that is performed and expected on a daily basis with every growing class sizes and students on IEPs and 504 plans.

I think this is an important book for educators to read. I have read quite a few book on how education has, over the centuries, been used as a tool to enforce cultural/racial divisions and about the school to prison pipeline etc. This book is different though as it follows a cohort of students over several years (cut short by the Covid Pandemic). What I appreciated about this book is how the author acknowledges when the educators (both admin and teachers) try to show up for their students as well as when things go so wrong. It is heartbreaking to see how the classroom slowly sucks the joy and life out of some of these students in the book. As a teacher myself, I am well aware of the many challenging aspects of teaching and Ray is sympathetic to those challenges too. But ultimately educators need to realize that our charges are children and it is our responsibility to foster their growth and joy. Another point that this book brings up is that educators in "at risk" areas often rush to judge the communities and families that they serve with a broad brush. This is something educators should be aware of. An excellent and informative book by Ranita Ray and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this book for review.

This is a Non Fiction. I read this book by listening to the audiobook, and I found the narrator to be ok. The narrator was easy to understand. This book says "Confronting Dark Truths in the American Classroom", but this book's writer only wrote about one school in America. I feel that the writer should have gone to other schools throughout America to say something like that. I think there are not so good teachers out there, and my kids have had a few of them. Mostly, My kids have had great teachers. Some, of the best teachers my teachers had is black teachers. I also found parts of this book are just respecting itself. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

The looking glass that has been provided is mind blowing. This book should be in the hands of teachers, administrators, parents, and the research community! As one navigates through this text, one is faced with the realities that happen in many classrooms across the country. This is a must read for anyone interested in the success of education!

Ranita Ray sat me in a classroom with a handful of students and their stories and managed to break my heart over and over again for them. There is a lot on how educational systems that are in theory meant to protect might cause harm. But also when talking to adults, they have the capacity to understand that if you snap at that, they might have something else going on that has nothing to do with you. Kids don't have that yet and this was a good reminder of that. This was an easy listen on audio, I felt like I was in the classroom with these kids.

This is an uncomfortable but very important exploration of the ways teachers harm students through off-hand comments and assumptions the author refers to as "slow violence."

This book is the exemplifies the notion that small offhand comments can alter the course of someone’s life. It’s a must read for teachers and parents.

The author gained a rare inside look into classrooms by sitting in on classes. She saw first hand how teachers treat children. The book focuses on a handful of students as they progress from fourth grade to the pandemic. It details their personalities, their brilliance, and their social interactions. It also details comments made by teachers both to their faces and when they think nobody else is listening.

The book is well written. The narrator did a wonderful job. It’s well worth the read or listen.