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Kronenfeld, Jennie Jacobs (2000)
Schools & the Health of Children: Protecting Our Future.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications.
Kronenfeld makes a strong case for school involvment in child
health by giving a fairly detailed view of the changes in poverty,
health care, and child rearing in the United States in the last
century. She points out that the greater amounts of time children now
spend in school mean that health issues will naturally arise in the
school setting. Specific health issues—smoking, nutrition,
sexuality—have become well established parts of the school
curriculum. Kfonenfeld also mentions some more recent studies that
link health and education level, to show that teaching children about
their health is a logical part of the education process.
Funding for school health initiatives has had to be creative and
the author provides a good overview, not only of how various projects
were funded, but also of the issues involved in various funding
decisions. This overview segues into a discussion of a group of
Arizona projects that operated school-based health clinics.
Kronenfeld's concern is with the design and administration of these
projects as well as with their continued funding. She offers insights
into the factors critical to the operation of these clinics, as a way
of discussing clinic planning and operations in general. Since these
clinics were all funded by a single foundation, operated in a single
state, and by the author's admission, not typical of clinics elsewhere
because they were affiliated with elementary rather than high schools,
it may be dangerous to rely too heavily on generalizations from this
experience.
Much of this book, like the Arizona projects it describes, is a
product of the mid 90s. The final chapter, which looks to the future
is the only one that seems to have been written more recently. The
author's obvious expertise with the subject make it a valuable
contribution despite its limitations.
Pages: 115
Price: $59.95 (cloth), $30.95 (paper)
ISBN: 0761911138 (cloth), 0761911146 (paper)
Reviewed by Kate Corby, Michigan State University
Ohanian, Susan (2000)
Books Day by Day: Anniversaries, Anecdotes & Activities.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Books Day by Day, offers an opportunity to celebrate famous
literary figures, as well as lesser known authors, and illustrators of
books for young people. Little known facts about these people, writing
tips, word games, creative activities are included for each day of the
year.
The reading/writing connection offered for each day can be adapted
for any age, grade level, or interest. Ohanian offers connections to
curricular themes, such as the first dictionaries and thesauruses,
proverbs, poetry, fairy tales, history, or nature studies. These
subjects are a delight to find serendipitously, browsing by date, but
there is also a subject and author index.
The activities are not merely daily time fillers. They offer a
starting point for creative thinking, and encourage reading of all
kinds of books, by all levels of readers. This would be a good addition
to a collection of books for language arts classroom activities.
Pages: 278
Price: $25.00
ISBN: 0-325-00331-9
Reviewed by Helga B. Visscher, University of Alabama
Quinn, Molly (2001)
Going Out, Not Knowing Whither: Education, the Upward Journey, and
the Faith of Reason. (Counterpoints, v. 92)
New York: Peter Lang
Publishing.
Part of the Counterpoints; Studies in the Postmodern Theory of
Education series, Quinn's book invites readers to examine the religious
nature of education. A nature, she contends, has been lost in Western
Civilization's quest for reason, specifically citing Friedrich
Nietzsche's proclamation that "God is Dead" (p. 56). Quinn does not
advocate a particular faith creed or practice. Instead, she defines
religious as an attitude, a spirit of inquiry that seeks to explore the
deeper issues of life: questions of origin, meaning, and ultimacy.
Beginning in chapter 1, "Dying Idols, Difficult Commandments, and
the Call of Faith", Quinn declares that Western Civilization is
experiencing a crisis of faith, brought on by the dominance of reason
in the educational process. This pursuit of reason, she notes, has
resulted in the loss of story and imagination—narrative—in
education. We have lost our
souls, says Quinn. She outlines the history of this loss, discussing
the works of Nietzsche, Paul Ricoeur, and Jacques Derrida.
In chapter 2, "Curse, Crisis and the Reign of Death", she goes on
to explain the results of the preeminence of reason, noting that if God
is dead, then we are dead. Not in the physical, of course, but in our
thinking related to matters of ultimate importance. In our dialogue
and discussion, she relates, we do not go beyond what is at the
surface.
Today in the educational process, she notes, we seek to find that final
answer, that exact method rather than examining the issues that drive
our existence. Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth
living" (p. 12), and this is the life, Quinn says, we are living in
education.
In chapters 3 & 4, "Education, the Upward Journey," and "The Faith
of Reason", she calls us to return to the depth, to ask questions and
to look beyond what can be answered by reason. Quinn critiques an
educational system that promotes primacy of reason, arguing that we
need "a renewed concern with spiritual matters" in education. She
advocates an educational system that involves the soul and its journey
toward the good, true and beautiful. Her epilogue, "Sojourning in the
Land of Promise", describes her attempts to integrate matters of faith
and spirituality into her teaching at Adelphi University in New York
where she is Assistant Professor of Educational Studies.
In Going Out, Not Knowing Whither, Quinn shares her own
spiritual journey, and in the process, guides the reader toward
understanding the need to bring the spiritual back in the educating and
learning process. Quinn writes in a style that is dense and poetic,
using stories, scriptures, and philosophies, which take the reader to a
depth of thought not often tackled in today's educational environment.
Recommended.
Pages: 222
Price: $29.95
ISBN: 0-8204-4104-X
Reviewed by Stephanie Davis, Spring Arbor University
Striker, Susan (2001)
Young at Art: Teaching Toddlers Self-Expression, Problem-Solving
Skills and an Appreciation for Art.
New York: Henry Holt.
This book by Susan Striker, author of the best selling
Anti-Coloring Book series, is aimed at parents of young children, but
has much to offer teachers and child care providers as well. For
Striker, fostering creativity is the central reason to offer art
experiences to children and she begins by discouraging common
activities that stifle creativity. Besides printed coloring books she
focuses criticism on holiday related projects; attempts to urge
children toward realism; and parents who don't praise, save, and
display their children's efforts. Even as she pleads with readers not
to do these things, Striker offers educationally sound alternatives in
generally realistic ways. Some parents might question her mandate to
keep every artwork their child has ever produced. Few could fail to
understand the difference between a "That's pretty" response and
telling the child "the colors are so bright and cheerful, there are
straight lines and curvy lines and they look good together..." (p. 20)
The book is divided in to chapters that focus on major art
activities including drawing, painting, printing, and sculpture.
Striker offers ideas for presenting color, shapes, songs, and stories
to enrich the art experience. She is careful to offer suggestions that
lead to age appropriate activities, for example:
After your child has had considerable experience exploring the physical
properties of paint through finger-painting activities, you will want
to introduce paint with a brush. Eighteen months of age is the ideal
time to do this, but you will know when your child is ready by noticing
that he or she really understands the concept of doing things with such
tools as combs or spoons. (p. 66)
The book concludes with a list of supplies and suppliers. Overall
a refreshingly different look at childhood artistic creativity,
Young at Art will be a favorite for teachers to recommend to
parents. It's clear, well-substantiated recommendations should make
art period less stressful for everyone.
Pages: 284
Price: $15.00
ISBN: 0-8050-6697-7
Reviewed by Kate Corby, Michigan State University
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