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You
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Recommended Reading
Lessons from the Hawk
by Mark Kennedy
Brandon, VT: Holistic Education Press, 2001
ISBN: 1885580053
Mark Kennedy, for the last ten years an alternative education teacher with San Bernadino County schools, draws on his background in the Navy, graduate studies in Greek and Medieval European studies, and a successful career in business to create a warmly supportive and highly motivating environment for his students. In his book, he uses the metaphor of a hawk that inspired him to point out the critical importance of observing both detail and the big overview of any situation, especially in relation to observing the needs of specific students while keeping in mind the overall needs of the whole class. His anecdotes are colorful and useful examples of the strategies he uses to engage and challenge.
Kennedy groups learners in four categories defined by the questions they ask when engaged in learning: What (is it), Why (does it work), What If (we changed it), and So What (does it do for me). He suggests that these four perspectives are the result of both nature and nurture and shows furthermore that the right kind of nurture can have dramatic effects on student success. In his book, he includes a detailed description of the four learning perspectives, how to identify them, how to reach all students in the classroom, how to extend these perspectives through meaningful homework, how to create a democratic classroom, a suggested process for systemic school reform, and his vision of schools of the future.
The book includes colorful examples from his own classroom, useful charts and diagrams, and specific strategies he has found helpful during his teaching career working with a great variety of students including many highly "at risk." Each chapter ends with a list of "reality checks," that may be used to assess one's own understanding of the concepts or with study groups. This is a wonderful, inspiring book by a talented and dedicated teacher.
Copyright September 2001 New Horizons for Learning, all rights reserved.
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