An ambitious and well-argued approach to redesigning the educational environment to better respond to student needs.
An educator proposes a research-based teaching method that incorporates broad aspects of the human mind and personal development.
In this second edition of his debut book, Watagodakumbura makes a case for what he calls “authentic” education, a holistic practice that maximizes learning by being more responsive to students’ needs and concentrates on deep lessons rather than rote memorization. The work guides readers through research on brain development, learning styles, and the creation of knowledge (Daniel Goleman, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Daniel Siegel, and Rick Hanson make appearances in the text, as do frequent mentions of Bloom’s taxonomy and Maslow’s hierarchy), delivering a greater understanding of what it means to be educated. The author establishes the many ways in which contemporary educational environments do not meet student needs and keep pupils from reaching their maximum potentials, and he shows how many aspects of modern life could be improved by a wider approach to the learning process. He then provides readers with examples of how authentic techniques can be used in the classroom while acknowledging the difficulty of implementing these strategies within the current education milieus. The book is aimed at students of pedagogy and classroom teachers who deal with the practical applications of education research, and it stays focused on its specialist audience throughout the text. Watagodakumbura is passionate about the potential benefits of authentic education. The work serves as a generally compelling argument for revisiting the traditional approach to teaching and learning, acknowledging that it represents a substantial change from the status quo: “Authentic education per se is a catalyst for a holistic transformation our societies need in the educational forefront, not a patch to be applied, to be swayed in the presence of economic or market changes with a narrow perspective or to suppress one problem until we encounter another, much bigger one.” The arguments are based on solid and substantial research, with full citations. While the volume skillfully addresses the conceptual aspects of the education system’s shortcomings, it is particularly effective in identifying concrete, accepted practices that limit students’ potential development, such as the use of multiple-choice questions and the imposition of artificial time limits. The book also does an excellent job of explaining why adapting to the neurodiversity and varied needs of the student population is a benefit both to individual pupils (who are not marginalized by rigid definitions of learning and achievement) and society (which gains the talents of more productive folks while isolating fewer who do not conform). The author presents a strong case for the dramatic changes he advocates and the benefits of “an integrated human development-focused sustainable system.” The prose is occasionally awkward (“Many students, especially in teenage and early adulthood, may feel the learning environment in a more neutral manner”; “Under prevailed social contexts”). But there are also plenty of vivid metaphors and imagery that will draw readers’ attention and make the complex topic manageable.
An ambitious and well-argued approach to redesigning the educational environment to better respond to student needs.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-0721-1375-1
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Time Tunnel Media
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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