Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of keyconcepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents an investigation of how the economic and cultural realities of neoliberalism are undermining the dignity of underprivileged young people. David Hursh looks at US education standardized testing 'reform' as shaped within broad structural bodies arranged within the logics of neoliberalism. The book discusses an exploration of ways in which the assault on dignity of underprivileged school children takes shape on the ground, at the level of household and community. Slam poetry is a youth-driven social movement, a close cousin to Hip-Hop culture with which it shares the values of community, performativity, and social critique. The book elaborates how neoliberal policies find their way into schools, reshaping curricular spaces and curriculum to align with the privatized dictates of the economy. It explores the way teachers and students push back against these forces in an effort to reclaim voice, identity, and dignity.