Starting with Whitehead

Lynn Sargent De Jonghe

doi:10.5771/9780761873372

Summary

Parents and teachers want to give children the best opportunities for success in life. But opinions may vary vehemently about the methods for accomplishing these aims. Starting with Whitehead begins with the premise that today’s children will need skills and values to live in a world of fast-paced, turbulent change: creativity, problem solving ability, attitudes of life-long learning, emotional resilience, and appreciation of different perspectives.

As we seek guidance on these issues, we are led to the work of Alfred North Whitehead, who brilliantly perceived that the process of change itself is fundamental to our existence, how we experience ourselves and others, and how we interact with the world around us. In his classic work, The Aims of Education, he elaborated a three-stage process of learning, involving romance, precision and generalization. His vision of education calls for exploring real experiences rather than packing scraps of information into passive students.

This book offers examples of learning events at each stage that illustrate how adults can help children thrive in a world of change, based on the author’s experience working with children as a parent, teacher, principal and policy maker. Drawing on seminal psychological and educational research, De Jonghe sets these events in the context of a vigorous theoretical foundation and proposes specific strategies for success. Her recommendations have relevance for parents, teachers, principals, and policy makers.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7618-7336-5
ISBN-Online: 978-0-7618-7337-2
Publisher: Hamilton Books, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 280
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. A Note from the Author No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
4. List of Illustrations No access
Introduction: Inspiring Learning for a Changing World No access Pages 1 - 6
1. 1. James and the School Bell No access
  2. Taking Curiosity Seriously No access
  3. Starting with the Child’s Curiosity: Problems and Inspirations No access
  4. Suggestions and Recommendations No access
  5. Strategies for Parents and Teachers No access
  6. James and His Teachers Revisited No access
  7. Notes No access
2. 1. The Power Plant of the Future No access
  2. Playing Mental Leapfrog: Problem Solving, Creativity, and Play No access
  3. Aha! No access
  4. Letting Go of the Goal: Playfulness and Creativity No access
  5. Seeing Anew: The Integration of Inspiration No access
  6. How Play Develops During Childhood No access
  7. Encouraging Playfulness No access
  8. Suggestions for Parents, Teachers and Administrators No access
  9. Conclusion No access
  10. Notes No access
3. 1. The Author’s Chair No access
  2. Children as Authors No access
  3. Respectful Listening: Grounded in Empathy and Caring No access
  4. Writing to Read No access
  5. Conclusion No access
  6. Notes No access
4. 1. Aaron’s New Year No access
  2. Learning from Aaron’s Experience No access
  3. Success, Pleasure, and Achievement No access
  4. Flow and Happiness No access
  5. Suggestions for Parents and Educators No access
  6. Conclusion No access
  7. Notes No access
5. 1. Jerome’s Block No access
  2. We Do, We Learn No access
  3. Real Learning versus Fun Activities No access
  4. On Scope and Sequence No access
  5. Beyond “Teacher Proof” Lessons No access
  6. Suggestions for Learning by Doing No access
  7. Conclusion: Jerome in Perspective No access
  8. Notes No access
1. 1. Ella and Alan Learn to Read No access
  2. 1. What is Mastery? No access
  3. Awareness and Mastery No access
  4. Information and Mastery: The Dreyfus Model No access
  5. Getting to Mastery: Practice and Feedback No access
  6. Practice, Feedback, and Testing No access
  7. Focusing on Mastery in the Classroom No access
  8. Skill Development and Information Abundance: An Educational Conundrum No access
  9. Suggestions for Parents and Educators No access
  10. Conclusion: Mastery and Success, or the Chicken and the Egg No access
  11. Notes No access
2. 1. Janie and Gilgamesh No access
  2. Probing Deeply No access
  3. Personal Example: Learning to Refinish a Floor No access
  4. Suggestions No access
  5. Conclusion: Resisting Shallow Learning No access
  6. Notes No access
3. 1. The Inventors: STEAM with a Smile No access
  2. Making Contests No access
  3. New Approaches to the Scientific Method No access
  4. 1. Suggestions for Parents and Educators No access
  5. Conclusion: Problem Solving Reconsidered No access
  6. Notes No access
4. 1. Alonzo’s Artifacts No access
  2. Helping Individuals Work Together: Rugged Individualism Meets Group Dynamics No access
  3. Groups and Their Dynamics No access
  4. Collaboration and Cooperative Learning No access
  5. Building Emotional Awareness No access
  6. Suggestions for Parents and Teachers No access
  7. Conclusion: Moving Beyond Competition to Meet Today’s Challenges No access
  8. Notes No access
1. 1. Friends of the Creek No access
  2. Project-Based Learning Integrates Understanding No access
  3. Carson’s Forerunners No access
  4. Integrated Learning and Progressive Education No access
  5. Montessori and Reggio Emilia No access
  6. Integrated Learning at the University Level No access
  7. Peaks and Pitfalls of Integrated Learning No access
  8. Integrating Learning: Suggestions for Parents and Educators No access
  9. Conclusion: Grounds for Optimism and Caution No access
  10. Notes No access
2. 1. The Homeless Project No access
  2. Fairness, Moral Judgement, and Social Justice No access
  3. 1. Step One: Address the Problem Directly No access
    2. Step Two: Listen to Each Child Fully and Completely Without Interruption No access
    3. Step Three: Reflection No access
    4. Step Four: Hear Other Perspectives No access
    5. Step Five: Whenever Possible, Reach Acknowledgment about What Happened No access
    6. Step Six: Problem Solving No access
    7. Step Seven: Resolution No access
    8. Step Eight: Amends No access
    9. Caveat: Conflict Resolution May Fail to Resolve Some Problems No access
  4. Healing the Harm: Restorative Justice No access
  5. Developing Empathy and Compassion No access
  6. Suggestions and Recommendations No access
  7. Conclusion: Toward Social Justice No access
  8. Notes No access
3. 1. In Ishi’s Wilderness No access
  2. Human Society and the Natural World No access
  3. Wilderness and Place-Based Education No access
  4. Education for Wonder: Spiritual Wisdom in a Secular World No access
  5. Suggestions and Recommendations No access
  6. Especially for Educators No access
  7. Conclusion: Connectedness and Compassion as Sources of harmony No access
  8. Notes No access
4. 1. Living with Resilience in Difficult Times No access
  2. Natural Disasters No access
  3. Illness and Epidemics No access
  4. Violence and Domestic Terrorism No access
  5. Teasing, Bullying, and Emotional Abuse No access
  6. Information Wars: A Growing Threat No access
  7. Suggestions for Dealing with Crises No access
  8. Conclusion: Prevailing Even in Difficult Times No access
  9. Notes No access
5. 1. The Butterfly Garden No access
  2. Building Community Spirit in Schools: An Evolving Challenge No access
  3. Meeting the Needs of a Multi-Ethnic Society No access
  4. Gardens Can Build Community No access
  5. Building Community Amid Diversity No access
  6. Suggestions for Parents, Teachers, Administrators, and Policy Makers No access
  7. Conclusion: Why Build Community? No access
  8. Notes No access
1. Resistance to Change No access
2. Change: A Double-Edged Sword No access
3. The Process of Change No access
4. Summary Recommendations No access
5. Looking Forward No access
6. Notes No access
Appendix: The Influence of Process Philosophy on Recent Scientific Theory No access Pages 237 - 240
Bibliography No access Pages 241 - 264
Index No access Pages 265 - 278
About the Author No access Pages 279 - 280