The Four Pivots, by author, professor, and activist Shawn Ginwright, is part exploration of the research of inclusionary practice, part how-to, and part story. Ginwright outlines Four Pivots: From Lens to Mirror, From Transactional to Transformative, From Problem to Possibility, and From Hustle to Flow. In each section, the author offers definitions to clarify the pivot and pulls you in with stories relevant to work in afterschool programs and in life. Thought-provoking questions are included in each section. While the content is complex and forced me to think about my words, practice, and place in the youth development work, the read was pleasurable, and the organization of the chapters and topics made it a fast read.

Reviewed by Alison Reis Khanna, Project Manager at Resources for Learning

In The Four Pivots, Dr. Shawn Ginwright continues to light the way for educators, youth workers, and families committed to building intersectional movement spaces. The text outlines the moves we must make to center community care if we confront inequality in all its complexity and make space for ourselves to heal from the intergenerational traumas of interlocking oppressions. The book is a must-read for anyone who considers themselves a youth advocate. It is a call to be vulnerable and double down on our humanizing pedagogies. Ginwright’s text equips us with powerful strategies to center reflection, truth, and belonging in order to imagine sites of possibility and abundance from within which our powers of care and creation can flow.

Reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Bishop (@DrBishopDigital), Faculty of Youth Studies at the City University of New York

At NAA, we are avid readers always on the hunt for books that speak to the nature of out-of-school time professionals every day and wellbeing. We cover a few new ones each time we publish the AST magazine, so check out the other excellent choices in the latest AfterSchool Today here!