Jenny's Story

By carefully documenting how space was made for Jennya child who didnt fit the school moldthis book offers a renewed sense of human possibility and an attainable vision of what schools can be. The authors demonstrate that it is only by attending to each and every child that schooling can begin to achieve its most noble aim: equality. Readers are introduced to Prospects educational philosophy and descriptive processes, with details about what the processes are and what they offer teachers, parents, and children. Jennys story is told through these processesways of looking at children and their work that make it possible to know each child as a person, a thinker, and a learner. While Jennys journey through elementary school is the heart of the book, this is also the story of a big urban school serving many immigrant families. Jenny's Story offers readers a compelling look at: How teachers, staff, and the principal successfully worked with a richly diverse community. What it means to ground teaching in knowledge of the particular, careful observation, and collective inquiry. How to challenge school policies and mandates that work against childrens well-being and dignity.