Parents and teachers everywhere want young people to feel connected, believe in themselves, and find joy and meaning in life. Yet public schools--whether out of respect for family beliefs or out of fear of lawsuits--generally avoid any time and attention to developing the spiritual lives of students. At last, here's a book that bravely goes forward with practical advice on how schools can create a place for spirituality in the classroom. Based on deeply moving stories and the profound questions students ask, Rachael Kessler explains safe, responsible, and effective ways to make a place for the soul in the classroom:
- Seven key experiences that provide pathways for nourishing the souls of students;
- Four practices that are crucial to inviting spirituality into the classroom;
- Themes, questions, and teaching strategies that elicit honesty from students and allow them to find out more about one another and about themselves;
- Curriculum models that foster creativity and allow students to explore the "big questions" in life; and
- Classroom experiences that help break down prejudices, increase academic motivation, improve focus, and encourage students to express themselves in constructive ways.
Anyone concerned about the root causes of drug abuse, teen pregnancy, youth suicide, and violence will be especially eager to explore this book's framework for addressing the inner lives of students. (ASCD E-Book, 2000) Downloadable PDF File.
Note: This is an electronic product, available for download only.
Print edition: The print edition of this title (ISBN 9780871203731) is NOT available direct from ASCD; it may be purchased through booksellers that work with Ingram’s Lightning Source distribution system, including most major retailers.
What they're saying about The Soul of Education
"The Soul of Education offers an inspiring, hopeful, and much-needed antidote to the malaise that afflicts too many children . . . a practical, inclusive, and sensitive guide for helping young people connect with their spiritual yearnings."
--Dan Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
"Kessler celebrates the diversity of beliefs in our free country. . . . But she wisely understands the spiritual emptiness of our times and knows that we ignore the souls of our children at their peril, and ours. Children need encouragement and guidance in struggling with the deeper meaning and purpose of life in a society that glorifies the material over the spiritual."
--Marian Wright Edelman, President, The Children's Defense Fund
"The examination of the quest for meaning among today's adolescents is both daring and needed."
--Howard Gardner, author of Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century
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