Educating from the Heart: Theoretical and Practical Approaches to Transforming Education

Educating from the Heart: Theoretical and Practical Approaches to Transforming Education is based on the questions: "What does it mean to educate from the heart? What does it mean to educate with spirit?" It offers both theoretical overviews and practical approaches for educators, academics, education students and parents who are interested in transforming schools. Well-respected voices in the field of education provide a framework that includes recent findings from the world of neuroscience, as well as fresh perspectives about traditional wisdom. Practicing educators describe methods directly applicable in classrooms. In addition, many chapters emphasize the importance of educators attending to their own inner lives. The book encourages reinvigorating approaches to learning and teaching that can easily be integrated into both public and private K-12 school classrooms, with many ideas also applicable to higher education. It supports an educational system based on the beliefs that heart and spirit are intertwined with mind and intellect, and that inner peace, wisdom, compassion, and conscience can be developed together with academic content and skills.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Foreword: The Spirit Dimension of Education Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 Acknowledgments Chapter 4 Introduction Part 5 Section I—Overview Chapter 6 Developing Spirit Related Capacities of Children and Adolescents Chapter 7 Supporting Inner Wisdom in Public Schools Chapter 8 Developing Mindfulness and Emotional Self Regulation in American Education Chapter 9 Nurturing the Spirit through Literature Chapter 10 The Six Passages of Childhood—A Model for School-based Rites of Passage Chapter 11 Paying Attention to the Whole Self Part 12 Section II—Practice Chapter 13 Deepening Presence and Interconnection in the Classroom Chapter 14 The Yogi in the Classroom Chapter 15 Simple in Means Chapter 16 The Inner Life of Teaching Chapter 17 Integrating the Spirit with Total Body Fitness Chapter 18 Stress Reduction in a Middle Level Social Studies Class Chapter 19 Teaching Children EmpathyJessica Toulis Chapter 20 Counseling from the HeartMadelyn Nash Chapter 21 Nurturing Childrenís Inner Resources—An Elementary School GuideAuriel Gray Chapter 22 ConclusionAostre N. Johnson and Marilyn Webb Neagley Chapter 23 Biographical Sketches

About the Author :
Aostre N. Johnson is a professor of education at Saint Michael's College in Vermont, where she teaches courses on child development and integrated curriculum theory and practice, and also directs the master's degree curriculum concentration. She has published a number of articles and co-edited a book related to creative, spiritual, and ethical approaches to education and has also founded and directed holistic schools for children. Marilyn Webb Neagley has worked both locally and nationally for over forty years with non-profit organizations as a CEO, volunteer, trustee and/or consultant. She was most recently the recipient of an IPPY gold medal for best northeastern non-fiction for her book of reflections, Walking through the Seasons.

Review :
This book brings together some of the renowned voices in the field of education and spirituality so that each chapter offers up-to-date research and insights that inform and enlighten classroom theory and practice. The editors have carefully structured the contents so that there is a fluidity of movement from theory to practice throughout the book, thereby raising its appeal and access to both academics and teachers. It is a worthwhile resource for pre-service and postgraduate education programs, as well as for classroom teachers. Educating From the Heart is a beacon of light given the current context of education. It illuminates ideas and practices that can enrich and empower the lives of students. It searches out the varied contexts where wholeness and heart-filled learning can be applied. And it disperses the dark shadows of conformity and meaningless accountability by its hopeful message and practical content. The ideas in this book are presented in such a way that teachers will want to try these approaches themselves. The more theoretical chapters help provide a framework for the chapters on strategies by teachers who clearly are deeply invested in a holistic approach to teaching. This book fills an important gap in the literature on spirituality in education with its classroom based focus. Educating from the Heart is a "must read" for all practicing school administrators and should be incorporated into any leadership development program for educators. Applying many of the principles and beliefs identified in this book challenges established practices and structures in our current "high stakes" testing environment. It is a compelling book relating to the topic of student well being that has to be addressed in a more systemic fashion in our schools. Educating from the Heart offers both theoretical overviews and practical approaches to include elements of humanity, spirituality, and inner growth within the practical content of modern education. This book is for educators, academics, education students, and parents who are seeking a new way to present a more holistic education.