I am currently reading another book on education. With the heart of a student advocate, I am always interested in and often engaged in reading and reflecting on the current traditional public school social system, what works, what doesn't, the pressures, the pain, and the promise. I am currently slowly reading Students on the Margins: Education, Stories, Dignity, by Jaylynne N. Hutchinson.
This got my attention: "If we were to measure our education proposals against how well the dignity of all our children might be sustained or helped to flourish, perhaps our schools would look different indeed. And perhaps teachers would finally be able to act upon the desires and intents that brought them to teaching in the first place." [page xii]
From the back of the book: "The focus on teaching is not on what we teach or how we test but, more fundamentally, on the quality of relationships, according to [the author]. Amid much talk of educational reform that focuses on pedagogy, curriculum, and policy, Hutchinson attests that when we don't pay attention to student's personal stories, students can become marginalized from the process of learning...Using story as a metaphor for paying attention to the meaning children create in their lives...."
I have seen this to be true in my classroom, the research I've seen, and other educational experiences. I am looking forward to reading further and seeing what the author has to say.
This book was published in 1999. The dilemma seems still so current. I often wonder why we are not further along on this.
For further information on the book, click here:
http://amzn.com/0791441660
