Prospect Center

March 2, 2010

JENNY'S STORY: Taking the Long View of the Child

Prospect’s new book, published in 2010, Jenny’s Story: Taking the Long View of the Child, Prospect’s Philosophy in Action, written by Patricia F. Carini and Margaret Himley, with Carol Christine, Cecilia Espinosa, and Julia Fournier is now available for purchase online or at your local bookseller. It is published by Teachers College Press.

Here’s what one reviewer, Sarah Hudelson of Arizona State University, said about the book: “This detailed portrait of Jenny as person and as learner affirms the assertion that careful observation of one child influences our thinking about all children and the schooling they deserve. Jenny’s Story challenges us to continue the struggle to return children to the center of our teaching.”

Another reviewer, Shirley Brice-Heath of Brown University said, “A splendid book, a long view of children as advocates for justice, empathy and fairness in the world and a testament to the insightful powers of teachers who listen, observe, and wonder at children’s ways of teaching.”

A description of the content of the book, taken from the back cover:

“By carefully documenting how space was made for Jenny-a child who didn’t fit the school mold-this book offers a renewed sense of human possibility and an attainable vision of what schools can be. The authors demonstrate that it is only by attending to each and every child that schooling can begin to achieve its most noble aim: equality. Readers are introduced to Prospect’s educational philosophy and descriptive processes, with details about what the processes are and what they offer teachers, parents, and children. Jenny’s story is told through these processes-ways of looking at children and their work that make it possible to know each child as a person, a thinker, and a learner. While Jenny’s journey through elementary school is the heart of the book, this is also the story of a big urban school serving many immigrant families. Jenny’s Story offers readers a compelling look at:

• How teachers, staff, and the principal successfully worked with a richly
diverse community.
• What it means to ground teaching in knowledge of the particular,
careful observation, and collective inquiry.
• How to challenge school policies and mandates that work against children’s
well-being and dignity.”

Please recommend this book to colleagues: teachers, administrators, and friends; to those you meet or have met at conferences, meetings, and study groups.

Sincerely,

Ann Caren
President
Prospect Board of Trustees

Posted by lstrieb at March 2, 2010 8:38 PM