Pedagogies of Kindness and Respect On the Lives and Education of Children

«In a bloodless policy world in which kindergarten students are being forced into college and career readiness, this volume on care as a fundamental aspect of educational practice is most welcome. I hope that this book gains a wide readership of concerned educators who believe that teaching and learning are, at their heart, built around relationships that lead to trust and support. My thanks to the editors and contributors for bringing this timely set of papers to our profession, in hopes that kids get the nurturing support that they need to become caring members of the communities that they enter in life.»
(Peter Smagorinsky, Distinguished Research Professor of English Education, Department of Language and Literacy Education, The University of Georgia)

«It can be easy to forget, both in education systems built on capitalistic notions of competition and conformity, and in communities of clenched-fisted critical educators, that compassion and kindness are, themselves, inherently revolutionary. I experienced Pedagogies of Kindness and Respect as a sort of tonic of counter-hegemony. The authors - scholars, educators, activists - offered me a theory-grounded hope against neoliberalism's soul-crushing hold on public education. But equally important, they offered me a transformative vision for educational justice that is rooted in a solidarity that only can be built on critical humanism. I emerged deeply informed and spiritually nourished.»
(Paul C. Gorski, Associate Professor, New Century College)