I have just begun reading Ensouling Our Schools by Jennifer Katz with Kevin Lamoureux. I loved her book, Teaching to Diversitry and this one is a terrific follow up. She writes so elegantly and with such passion for students of diversity. I love the following excerpt from Katz’s introduction:
“Ask any teacher to list the 10 most important things they want their students to leave school with, and they will write things like, “respect,, empathy, self-confidence, leadership skills, critical thinking, risk-taker.” No one ever writes, “passive, obedient, rote memorized, conformist, good speller, teacher pleaser.”
Katz challenges us to pay close attention to our practices and ask ourselves whether we have classrooms, schools that match the dreams we have for our students. I personally find the same true when I teach Restitution and Control Theory. Educators around the world want the above ideals for their students. A passionate educator is a genius at ensourling our schools, touching the souls of each diverse student we have in our schools. Let us work as a team to ‘ensoul our schools.’
