Grappling With the Good: Talking About Religion And Morality in Public Schools (S U N Y Series in Philosophy of Education) [Paperback]

Robert Kunzman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0791466868 | ISBN-13: 978-0791466865 | Publication Date: February 16, 2006 | Edition: annotated edition

Asks whether public schools can and should help students discuss moral disagreements, even when religion is involved.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Weaving together history, philosophy, and curriculum, Grappling with the Good offers a vision of public education in which students learn to engage respectfully with the diversity of beliefs about how to live together in society. Robert Kunzman argues that we can and should help students learn how to talk about religion and morality, and bring together our differing visions of life. He describes how such an approach might work in the Kâ€"12 setting, explores central philosophical principles, and shares his ongoing experiences and insights in helping students to “grapple with the good.”

About the Author

Robert Kunzman is Assistant Professor of Education at Indiana University at Bloomington and a public high school teacher.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press; annotated edition edition (February 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791466868
• ISBN-13: 978-0791466865
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #683,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If John Dewey had taught in a high school for 10 years-- he might have written a book like this..., April 14, 2006

By 

Sam M. Intrator - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grappling With the Good: Talking About Religion And Morality in Public Schools (S U N Y Series in Philosophy of Education) (Paperback)

I do my research by shadowing high school students through their academic experiences. In my work, I am interested in how youth engage with each other and with ideas. Sadly, when it comes to engagement around ethical or moral issues, much of what I witness veers between "shock-radio" confrontation or systematic avoidance of any issue tinged with conflict or moral weight. In other words, bare-knuckle polemics or silence holds sway.

Writing with the acuity of a philosopher and the on-the-ground savvy of a veteran high school teacher-Kunzman offers a framework for understanding why the public school classroom must be a place for our diverse students to tangle and grapple with moral disagreement and combustible issues-particularly around our religious beliefs. Kunzman moves between sophisticated but accessible philosophical claims and providing detailed and authentic examples of "real" students and teachers "grappling with the good," the ambiguous, and the uncertain. As I finished this gem of a book, I jotted in the margin: "This is the kind of book John Dewey or Richard Rorty would write if they had worked as a high school teacher for a decade before they turned to full-time philosophy."