Vivian Gussin Paley (1929–2019)

The experiences of a white teacher in an integrated private kindergarten illustrate the consciousness of race that permeates our society. The doubt felt by many African Americans that African American children should attend predominantly white schools is explored, as are the doubts felt by an African American teacher who thinks she might be more useful in an all black school. The teacher incorporates stories of a slave named Kwanzaa into the stories she tells the children. Telling stories is show more a way to explore the cultural heritage of all the children in the class. These anecdotes are a form of communication that is necessary to ensure that every child has a sense of self in the classroom. Parents and teachers must talk to each other about race as about other issues to begin to work toward community and kinship. (SLD) show less

This is Paley’s swan song for young children’s play. There isn’t much of a driving force holding this book together other than that Paley thinks play is great. She is making the argument, however, that play is being challenged by rigorous academic instruction in the early years so I suppose this book is more a reaction to the times and trends than anything else. Most of the book contains snippets of conversations Paley has had with children over the years (whether in her own classroom show more or others), focusing on the stories that children create when playing with one another and when asked to make up a story for school play-acting time. The stories are cute, the way little kids can be, and are often humorous because of this, although the children also cover deep topics (for instance, 9/11 becomes a recurring theme for many children in recent years). Paley uses these example stories to show how children think, learn, and grapple with issues surrounding them on their own terms. The book is not very long overall and contains a lot of chapters that are each quite short, making this a quick read. While the book is geared more toward educators, it is also appropriate for parents or others who deal with young children on a regular basis. It is also of interest for those who study language and communication. show less

Short but lovely book of insights from a teacher's last year in the classroom. It won't necessarily give you techniques (it's not that kind of book), but it could give you ideas about integrating stories into your work. And it's particularly enjoyable if you're familiar with Leo Lionni, the author her students read and drew and thought and talked about all year.

This is a book that is for teachers. It is a resource that we can use to better understand our students and the things that we can do as teachers to help them learn and grow.

This is a book that talks about a little boy who believes that he is a helicopter. This story talks abut Jasons journey and how he begins to open up to his peers and his teachers. This book also talks a lot about what we can learn from our students as well as learning about allowing our students be be creative and tell show more their stories in our classrooms. show less