Greenfield resident Doug Selwyn wonders what schools and communities would look like if the health and well-being of all children became our highest priority, held higher than test scores, profits and real estate values.
That’s precisely the question Selwyn hopes to answer in his book, “All Children Are All Our Children.”
Selwyn will discuss his book at the Greenfield Public Library on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
“All Children Are All Our Children” situates the health crisis within the larger picture of inequality and the complex interplay of systems in the U.S. based on class, privilege, racism, sexism, and the ongoing tension between the ideals of democracy and the realities of corporate capitalism. Public education is caught in the middle of those tensions, Selwyn explains.
The book looks at the factors that support or undermine health, and then identifies steps that can be taken locally to support the health and well-being of youth and their families.
Selwyn, himself an educator for more than 30 years in the Seattle Public Schools and later as a university professor, has published several books on education, including “Following the Threads.”