   These days, racial literacy has become one of the most important skills to learn in order to interact with the world around us. As described by PPS, racial literacy means understanding the experiences and perspectives of different cultures and races, being aware of our biases, and being willing and able to acknowledge and address racial issues. Completing a racial literacy course teaching these skills is a graduation requirement for the classes of 2025 and beyond, and many students end up taking Princeton Introduction to Racial Literacy (PIRL) due to its convenience. Racial Literacy, the in-person option for fulfilling the requirement, is a semester-long course limited to juniors and seniors. PIRL, on the other hand, is a digital, asynchronous class that is open to all students, regardless of grade. However, due to the online and solitary nature of PIRL, student learning is greatly impacted and prevents them from developing the compassion and awareness expected of being “racially literate.” 
   When taking PIRL, there are no opportunities for social interaction among students, which impairs their ability to effectively retain the information they’ve learned through the course. Thus, students find themselves missing out on discussions, group activities, projects, and other opportunities to test their knowledge and interact with the material. The course states that communication is limited in order to allow students to reflect on their “thoughts and behaviors about race and oppression;” however, in reality, the lack of collaborative projects and feedback on assignments often acts as an obstacle for comprehension. Students can feel as though they are alone in the course and therefore care less about it, which often worsens understanding of the material. 
   Furthermore, with the need to read and watch lengthy passages and videos that are often difficult to comprehend and carry out the course’s intended purpose in a vague manner, students can often find themselves struggling to stay focused on the content. For instance, in a required text called “Stones, Fruit, Sand & Beliefs,” students are asked to contemplate the question, “What do we learn about our beliefs (values) from studying stones, trees, fruit and sand?”, and to “identify a proverb that resonates with [them]” from a list of nature-related phrases. This activity has little relevance to the stated purpose of the course, and it is even more likely to cause students to struggle to learn and feel a lack of commitment to learning about racial literacy when paired with online learning’s many opportunities for distraction and the lack of accountability in asynchronous environments. As students are only required to complete one activity per module, they often end up doing the bare minimum. 
   Additionally, the course does not provide students the opportunity to share their experiences with others, or give them a platform to participate in conversations about current racial justice issues. Because they don’t get the chance to learn from other students who might provide thought-provoking insights, students who typically do not face racial injustices are less likely to understand the purpose and impact of the course. 
   Despite its asynchronous format, PIRL should encourage students to speak up about race-related issues. This could be done in several ways, like creating discussion assignments where all students can contribute their opinions, or having mandatory online meetings (on various dates, to preserve flexibility) for students taking the class in order to discuss material and learn from each other. By implementing these adjustments, PIRL can become a course that not only enhances students’ understanding and empathy, but also provides a space where students can learn to have meaningful discussions surrounding marginalization. 

PIRL had the right intentions, but the wrong methods

After countless tours around the world with his bands, raking in double-digits of ensemble trophies and awards, Joe Bongiovi completes his 18th year as a band director at PHS. He is the sole conductor of the Princeton Studio Band, which frequently competes at both local and national jazz festivals, and this past December, Bongiovi took the band to Abbey Road Studios in London to record a new jazz album that will be released on June 14.
“To prepare for [the recording was] harder than preparing for a [normal] competition because we recorded six pieces that had to be pristine when we got to the recording studio,” Bongiovi said.
Most recently, the band won the state championship from the New Jersey Association for Jazz Education for the seventh time. However, their success didn’t come without hours of practice and rehearsals.
“We prepare by playing a lot of music, not just the music that we compete on ... we keep looking for more and more difficult pieces of music,” said Bongiovi. “We just break [the music] down [slowly] and try to make it as perfect as possible, [before speeding] it back up.”
In addition to directing Studio Band, Bongiovi also co-conducts the Nassau and Tiger bands alongside PHS band director Dave Pollack. 
“[Co-directing is] great because ... we can divide the students that are there by instrument [and] work on separate things,” said Pollack. “So he can work with brass, I can work with woodwinds, one of us can work with rhythm section, one can work with soloists.”
Though currently a music teacher, Bongiovi started his music career in high school, where he played tuba in the school’s marching band. He went on to study film scoring and composition at Berklee College of Music. While still in college, Bongiovi began helping his high school band director arrange and compose pieces for a marching band camp. Eventually, he started conducting the pieces that he wrote, which became a defining shift into his career as a teacher.
“I sort of fell into teaching,” said Bongiovi. “One day, the director told me, ‘You wrote it, so get up and conduct it’ ... it was a nice way of meshing composition and teaching.”
This led him to go back to school to get his Master in Music Education from the University of the Arts. After getting his master’s, Bongiovi taught at several middle and high schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; it wasn’t until 2007 that Bongiovi began teaching at PHS.
“I came [in the middle] of the 2006–2007 school year. They had an opening and the band director at the time, who was Dr. Downey, wanted me to come and that’s how I began teaching here,” said Bongiovi. “Being able to create new adventures and creating new opportunities for students has been keeping [my job] exciting.”
Isaac Son ’27, a student in Nassau II, appreciates Bongiovi’s guidance and attitude during class.
“When Mr. Bongiovi is there, he’s straightforward with what we do, which I like. He doesn’t waste that much time [and] he’s a good band director,” said Son. “[He also makes] funny jokes [which] make me laugh.”
Considering that Bongiovi has been teaching for 18 years, he often tries to incorporate new challenges and projects into his classes.
“Four years ago, [at Abbey Road], we did mostly jazz covers of popular songs. This time, we brought in jazz artists to play with us,” said Bongiovi. “Creating new adventures and creating new opportunities for students has [kept teaching] exciting ... [I hope to] keep coming up with new ideas.”

The Tower

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The Tower