All communities mean to do well by their children. Nevertheless, as Doug Selwyn of Greenfield points out in his book “All Children Are All Our Children,” our schools may not always nurture the intellect, creativity and health of the children in their care.
Selwyn argues that this problem is systemic. He writes in his introduction, “We present ourselves to ourselves and to the world as a society that values life, that values children, and that values family. Our actions at the national and state legislative levels do not come close to matching our words.
“It pains me to say this, but we have through our actions demonstrated, time and again, that we really don’t care about the health and well-being of children who are not ours or who are not within our immediate family or community,” he continues.
Selwyn has been an educator for more than 30 years at all levels — elementary, secondary and college. He draws on his own experiences (mostly in the Washington state school system), as well as on scholarly research, to paint a portrait of the state of American education.
That portrait is not pretty. He argues that many laws and practices relating to education in this country are disastrous. Like many educators and parents, he is particularly critical of the current focus in most school districts on rating students and teachers based on performance in standardized tests.
Those laws and practices, he explains, seldom take into account the home and social situations of individual children, situations that affect how they can and do learn.
And, as every community in our area struggling with school budgets knows, schools are unequally funded. Children in the poorest communities need the most help but generally receive the least school funding.
After describing the problems he has observed as an educator, Selwyn outlines a number of practices he has used and/or seen over the years to try to educate children more creatively and equitably.
He doesn’t claim that these practices present an exhaustive solution to the woes of American education. Nevertheless, he clearly hopes that they will inspire communities and teachers. He notes that problems exist at many levels — in schools, in the community, in the state and nationally.
“All Children Are All Our Children” raises important questions and begins to suggest answers to them. It is an inspiring book that should be read by educators, by civic leaders, by parents and by people who care about our educational system. That last category, as Doug Selwyn points out in his title, should include every American.
Tinky Weisblat is the award-winning author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook,” “Pulling Taffy” and “Love, Laughter, and Rhubarb.” Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.