Philosophers and educators come together to address contemporary issues in education.
Teachers and Philosophy showcases the potential of education practitioners and philosophers of education working and writing together. Following Mary Louise Pratt, this meeting space is referred to as a "contact zone," and contributors demonstrate the power and benefit of writing from this liminal space. Introductory and concluding chapters provide an argument for the value of bringing together philosophers and practitioners as well as tips for facilitating these interactions. Situated amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume grapples with the challenges that practitioners face around teaching controversial topics, crafting inclusive curricula, indigeneity, dis/ability, urban schooling, nature-based education, rural education, mental health, coping with feelings of anger, and more. Each chapter ends with suggestions for further reading or engagement, questions for reflection and discussion, and an activity that a class or reading group can move through together.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Mary Louise Pratt
Exactly What Is Needed: Editors' Introduction and Chapter Descriptions
Cara E. Furman and Tomas de Rezende Rocha
Arts of the Contact Zone
Mary Louise Pratt
1. Complicating Educators' Critical Consciousness: Descriptive Inquiry as an Equitable Contact Zone
Rachel Seher and Alisa Algava
2. Reimagining Contact as a Method: Portals and Portraits in the Classroom
Vikramaditya (Vik) Joshi and Melissa Rosenthal
3. Teaching Worms: Observation and Conversation
Cindy Ballenger
4. May We Be Angry? Teaching Responsively during Times of Crisis
Stephanie A. Burdick-Shepherd and Michelle Johnson
5. "No one wants to do that shit; no one wants to be in a contact zone": On the Goals and Struggles of "Contact Zone Pedagogy"
Tomas de Rezende Rocha, Jamila H. Silver, and Emily S. L. Silver
6. Learning Together to Stay with Trouble: Sustaining Educators across Time and Space
Cara E. Furman, Holly A. F. Lash, Hillary Post, and Lindsey Young
7. Ignoring Difference: How an Antidivisive Concepts Law Changed the Trajectory of an Antibias Curriculum Project
Joy Dangora Erickson and Kyleigh P. Rousseau
8. Finding a Place for Play in School: Risk, Ambiguity, and Resistance
Chris Moffett and Elisabeth Tam
9. Katzi Txumu'n: Creating a Curriculum of Mesoamerican Short Stories for Philosophical Conversations with Children and Families
Cristina Cammarano and Kimberly Arriaga-Gonzalez
10. Taking Up Space or Opening It? Reconsidering Space in the Social Foundations Course in Teacher Education
Meghan A. Brindley
11. The Value of Therapized Education: Exploring the Story and Theory of Reflexive Tension
Steven Zhao and Jesse Haber
12. Old Wisdom for Contemporary Problems: A Civic Republican Approach to Dis/ability in Education
Kevin Murray and Jessica D. Murray
13. A Humanistic Baseline in the Rural School
Sarah Freye and Dini Metro-Roland
14. Alone in the Presence of Others: Autos, Schole, and the Flourishing of Children in Nature-based Schools
Glenn M. Hudak and William Fulbrecht
15. Okinawa's Lesson for Peace and Democracy: Indigenous Values, Political Tension, Military Contact Zones, and the International Women's Club
Kanako W. Ide
Coda: Creating an Equitable and Fruitful Contact Zone of Philosophers and Teachers
Cara E. Furman, Vikramaditya (Vik) Joshi, Meghan A. Brindley, Stephanie A. Burdick-Shepherd, Joy Dangora Erickson, Hillary Post, Michelle Johnson, Holly A. F. Lash, Kyleigh P. Rousseau, and Lindsey Young
Contributors
Index
About the Author :
Cara E. Furman is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, Hunter College. She is the author of Teaching from an Ethical Center: Practical Wisdom for Daily Instruction and coauthor of Descriptive Inquiry in Teacher Practice: Cultivating Practical Wisdom to Create Democratic Schools. Tomas de Rezende Rocha is Assistant Professor of Social and Cultural Foundations at the University of Washington College of Education.
Review :
"Teachers and Philosophy makes a very unique contribution to what might be called 'applied' or 'practical' approaches to philosophy of education. It invites readers into a conversation and a community of engaged scholars and practitioners working collaboratively to address very 'real' and pressing issues in education, schools, and classrooms. The book also does a wonderful job 'humanizing' the educational experience." — Benjamin G. S. Paxton, University of Virginia
"I have never encountered a book in the field where nearly every article was coauthored by an academic philosopher and an educator, nor where the intersection between the two was so honestly and critically examined. The editors of this volume have framed the text around the generative and useful concept of 'contact zones.'" — Sara Hardman, Teachers College, Columbia University
