You're Not Listening

Meet Ashley who watches, dissects, analyzes, synthesizes and then creates amazing poetry. Meet Aaron who arrives to his English class on time, but leaves out if it gets too quiet. Meet Saraii who expects an Obama presidency to open Americans' eyes to the fact that racism still exists. And meet Duane who wonders whether the criminal justice system is actually a business profiting from systemic discrimination against poor, minority youth.

You're Not Listening is a compilation of narratives recorded by Baltimore, Maryland high school students about their experiences, perceptions, and opinions on a range of topics: family, school, sex, identity, racism, politics, and crime. They chose the title You're Not Listening to express concern that adults don't listen closely enough to their voices. Indeed, their narratives offer important lessons to teachers, parents, and public officials who interact with urban youth on a regular basis and challenge readers to reexamine the predispositions and stereotypes they may hold about cities and city kids.