The Worlds Educators Create: The Role of Education in the Creation of Place

The connection between place and education has always been complicated and in recent decades has mostly been ignored during the standardization era of education. This book provides a different lens to view this connection between place and education as one that is not optional, but inherent to all education. Furthermore, place is looked at not as an ingredient in educational practice, but as an outcome of education. Instead of merely considering how communities and landscapes can be incorporated into teaching practices, The Worlds Educators Create explores how educators can contribute toward the creation and meaning of the places themselves. By incorporating lenses from many fields of study, this book aims to create a unifying perspective of place beneficial for educators across content areas and grade levels. In so doing, educators are able to see the true impact of their work in shaping the places around them. Ultimately, The Worlds Educators Create calls for education to not merely occur in places, but contribute toward making the places themselves more just and equitable.

Table of Contents:
Dedication Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: Conceptualizing Place Ch. 1 Work Worth Doing Ch. 2 The Role of Place in Education Ch. 3 Expansive Place and the Crisis of Connectedness Ch. 4 The Person in Place Ch. 5 Public Places and Spaces Ch. 6 Emplacement in Teaching Ch. 7 Gestalts and Principles of Expansive Teaching PART II: Contextualizing Place Ch. 8 Pedagogy of Place and Transformative Teaching Ch. 9 Exposing More Students to Place Ch. 10 Exposing Students to More Places Ch. 11 Exposing Students to Place in More Contexts Ch. 12 Exposing Students to More Perspectives of Place Ch. 13 Toward Landscapes of Justice Ch. 14 The Teacher Steward About the Author

About the Author :
Matthew A. Clay is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Fort Hays State University interested in the connection between place and education. A former, secondary science teacher, he lives in rural Western Kansas with his wife and children.

Review :
This volume offers educators of students at all levels a new educational framework. Clay posits that a focus on place, on “considering what place means ... and what it means for teaching” can engage students, deepen learning, and help both educators and students understand the connections between place and learning, community, and society. Clay’s book focuses on five guiding questions about place to provide educators with “new lenses” for their pedagogy. These five questions guide educators to consider the meaning(s) of place, explore the role place plays in teaching, analyze place-based teaching practices, design instruction around place, and reflect on the ways place can inspire action and practices for justice. Each chapter includes a summary and questions for reflection so educators can develop their own approaches to teaching for and connecting to place. Clay focuses on equitable instruction with the goal of social engagement and moving “toward landscapes of justice.” Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; practitioners. Matthew Clay provides a clear vision for how teachers can bring a sense of place to their classrooms and beyond. Each chapter offers perspective, inspiration and reflection. The first half of the book breaks down what place is and why it’s important for teachers and students to experience places in their learning. Once Clay establishes conceptual foundations for place in education, he spends the second half of the book contextualizing what it would look like to expose more students to more places. Clay posits how to bring place into teaching and curriculum, and he provides concrete examples and helpful resources. I highly recommend this book to all teachers and teacher-candidates interested in making authentic, long lasting connections with their students. Likewise, I also recommend it to parents, school officials, teacher education faculty, and people interested making school relevant to the needs of our world. As a first-year teacher, I am always eager to learn about new teaching strategies and ways to make my instruction more enriching for my students, so Dr. Clay’s book is both an interesting read and an excellent resource. The Worlds Educators Create: How They Shape the Communities Around Them excellently teaches about place, what makes it important to incorporate into students’ school and classroom experiences, and how teachers can effectively do so. Readers will leave with a more conscious realization of how education of place is a key way to give students the knowledge to thrive in the world they live in. Dr. Clay’s book is an eye-opening perspective on intentionally incorporating place into education, helping to lessen barriers faced in rural education.”