Schools with Spirit: Nurturing the Inner Lives of Children and Teachers [Hardcover]

Linda Lantieri (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

In Schools with Spirit, fourteen respected educators ask whether schools can nurture the inner life of students without violating the beliefs of families or the separation of church and state. For anyone who is concerned for the inner lives of our children, Schools with Spirit inspires, through deeply moving stories, about everything from the first tentative steps toward fostering emotional growth in our children to the bold movement of welcoming the spiritual dimension in our schools.

"This important book on teaching spirituality in American schools may serve as a significant resource for school teachers and administrators who want to help their students cultivate a sense of spirituality. . . . Teachers who struggle to reach this difficult equilibrium will welcome the wealth that these essays have to offer."
— Samuel T. Huang, Library Journal

"This book consistently encourages teachers to be courageous and deeply engaged in teaching students, bringing their entire selves, including their spirituality, to their teaching."
— Vanessa Bush, Booklist

"[Schools with Spirit] illustrates the importance of meeting the emotional and spiritual-as well as intellectual-needs of students and teachers."
—*Mothering

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

With a series of recent occurrences of violence in schools across the nation, this important book on teaching spirituality in American schools may serve as a significant resource for school teachers and administrators who want to help their students cultivate a sense of spirituality. Lantieri, founding director of the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program of Educators for Social Responsibility and co-author of Waging Peace in Our Schools, advocates that teachers should nurture a sense of spiritual meaning in students, but also carefully emphasizes that spirituality is not synonymous with religion. In this collection of scholarly essays, 12 respected educators join Lantieri in her quest to discover how educators can nurture the inner lives of their students without violating the beliefs of their families or their distinct faiths. Among these educators are Rachel Kessler, who writes on seven "gateways" to nurturing inner lives, and Geoffrey Canada, who discusses the rewards of practicing and teaching tai chi. Teachers who struggle to achieve this difficult equilibrium will welcome the wealth of practical advice that these essays have to offer. So too will high school libraries and academic libraries with strong collections on education. Samuel T. Huang, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Editor Lantieri and other educators discuss bridge building between the spiritual and the secular within the restrictions imposed on public education by the mandated separation of church and state. Without such a bridge, teachers miss "teachable moments" in which to reach the inner lives of children, who naturally ask about such spiritual issues as, when a relative has died, the afterlife and such ethical issues as how they are treated. Public policy, however, holds that "nurturing the inner life [is] not the business of public education." The contributors, who teach students from a range of ethnic, racial, and economic backgrounds, advise how to work around restrictions--not to advocate particular religious teachings but to use teachers' and students' "spiritual intelligence." They suggest exercises for integrating ethical issues, spirituality, and academics, such as discussing with students the purpose of life, experiences of solitude, and handling life transitions. The book consistently encourages teachers to be courageous and deeply engaged in teaching students, bringing their entire selves, including their spirituality, to their teaching. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807031321
• ISBN-13: 978-0807031322
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Schools with Spirit, March 10, 2003

By 

Melody (Upton, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Schools with Spirit: Nurturing the Inner Lives of Children and Teachers (Paperback)

Linda Lantieri has done it again. A book that all educators must read, I am only about half way into it. I like it even better than Waging Peace in Our Schools. I have worked with Linda Lantieri and I can hear her voice. She is one of the most spirited people that I know. I needed to read this book when I did. It helped me to do the inner work that we as teachers need to do. Just last week I was asked are leprechauns real? I talked about legends with this child, as a story being handed down from previous generations. Are these stories real or imagined? Thank you Linda and everyone else who contributed to Schools with Spirit.