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The fact that so many of them reside here side by side creates the impression
of an "inherently cooperative ... and self-reflective group ... whose
members work...toward a common goal while respecting a variety of perspectives,
values ...."
... to be continued, hopefully, in July, in the IASCE Open Space conference
in Toronto.
(1) Schmuck, R. (1995). Timely adolescent reminiscences: The IASCE and
why I became an educator. Cooperative Learning, 15(1), 10-14.
Because We Can Change The World: A Practical Guide to Building Cooperative,
Inclusive Classroom Communities. Mara Sapon-Shevin. Boston, MA: Allyn
& Bacon. 1999, 262 pp.
Reviewed by Lawrence W. Sherman, Ph.D., Professor of Educational Psychology,
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA (shermalw@muohio.edu)
"...Sing ye praises with understanding." (Psalm47: 7)
In 1975 Public Law 94-142, The Education
for All Handicapped Children Act, and its 1990 amended version (re-authorized
in 1997), the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
required states in the USA to provide children with disabilities the "least
restrictive placement" in classrooms. In the past this legislation has
been described as "mainstreaming" which in the present is being called
"Full Inclusion."
Merely placing children with disabilities into so-called normal classrooms
does not insure that they will benefit from this more diverse environment.
Support systems need to be put in place so that children, disabled as
well as norma,l can benefit from association with each other. The 1997
IDEA legislation means that all teachers should expect their classrooms
to become more diverse as Full Inclusion of children with disabilities
is put into practice. Teachers need all the help they can get.
Mara Sapon-Shavin's book, Because We Can Change The World,
is an excellent resource to aid teachers in building productive,
caring, safe and cooperative environments for children. Sapon-Shavin's
term for this is CIVICS (Courage, Inclusion, Value, Integrity, Cooperation,
Safety).
Because We Can Change the World is a paperback book
packed full of practical ideas and activities for use in complex and diversely
structured classrooms. Between the covers of this 262-page book not only
will one discover a delightful textual narrative, but also "scores" of
musical examples.
The book was really "music for my ears," too! Except for the book's cover,
there are only three graphics (pictures) used, one is a picture of Tyler
Murray to whom the book is dedicated, and the other two are graphic models
of cooperative learning contained in chapter 6. However, the text and
music more than make up for its lack of visual graphic presentation. At
the end of seven well-structured chapters appears a complete list of multiple
references including several appendixes, resources, and indexes.
The seven chapters include a general Introduction where the author clearly
describes the public school classroom context within which full inclusion
takes place. Inclusionary practices are well defined and placed into the
context of a cooperative, safe, and caring classroom community where children
value each other. This is followed by seven topical chapters that focus
on "Schools as communities, Sharing ourselves with others, Knowing others
well, Places where we all belong, Setting goals and giving and getting
support, Working together to learn, and Speaking the truth and acting
powerfully". The general four-part structure of each chapter is to present
a "vision", followed by a "challenge to that vision", practical suggestions
on "how to begin" to attain that
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