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Educating for Human Greatness
Lynn Stoddard
Full electronic book on CD-ROM $14.95.
In this wise and perceptive book, veteran public school teacher/administrator
Lynn Stoddard surveys the current state of public education in America and
concludes that our current NCLB-driven practices are terribly out of balance.
By emphasizing the standardization (and in some places, the scripting) of curriculum
we have managed to make the personal and social growth of students increasingly irrelevant in our singleminded pursuit of content and test scores. The dilemma is well expressed by Lu Pilgrim who report that her teacher-students are asking
How does a teacher maintain an interesting, supportive, and developmentally appropriate environment that encourages students to build on what they know and become enthusiastic, independent lifelong learners, when the requirements from federal and state entities often prescribe and mandate rigid, “same size fits all” curriculum to prepare for tests that now begin as early as three years old?
Stoddard's solution is to have parents
and educators begin by realizing that standardization in education is neither
possible or effective. Only then can they focus on creating schools that truly
educate for human greatness.
To create such schools Stoddard proposes that parents, teachers, administrators
and school board members keep six cardinal principles constantly in mind:
- Value Positive Human Diversity and Cherish Every
Student’s Uniqueness
- Draw Out and Develop Each Child’s Latent Talents
- Respect the Autonomy of the Individual by Restoring
Freedom and Responsibility
- Invite Inquiry, Curiosity, and Hunger for Knowledge in
the Classroom
- Support Professionalism as Teachers Live by these Principles
- Parents and Teachers Unite to Help Children Grow in
Human Greatness
Educating for Human Greatness deserves to become a strong voice at the table of our current debate on the future of American education in the context of personal, social, and national goals. It should be read by every parent who really cares about the lopsided education that their children now receive; by every
teacher and administrator who puts students first in their professional lives;
and by every school board member who wants schools to be places where student
development is a reality, not just a slogan.
Lynn Stoddard is a veteran of teaching and parenting. While
shepherding his own large flock of twelve children through
the public schools of Utah, he was employed for 36 years as
an elementary teacher and principal. He now writes and
lectures on the urgent need to design a new system of public
education based on ancient wisdom and modern research.
Psychology Press/Holistic Education Press
Box 328, Brandon, VT 05733-0328
1-800-639-4122
http://www.great-ideas.org
info@great-ideas.org
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