Wounded by School by Kirsten Olson.
The first Foreword in Wounded by School was written by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot. Providing one wants the Foreword to entice the reader with a carefully structured point of view and summation of the book, Sara does this and so much more with one of the most well written Forewords I've ever read. The respect and importance that Sara, who is Kirsten's mentor, offers Kirsten and her work is articulated with care, concern and poetic flow.
Do you remember school? Or maybe your kids are in school? Was learning fun? Were you ever embarrassed in front of your class? Were you bored out of your mind? Did you get lumped and labeled with other students? Did you feel that your teacher cared? Did you have a low self-esteem due to something that happened at school? Did you feel as if teachers treated you like cows, herding you through the processing plant? Yes? Well there's a pretty good chance you were wounded by school.
We've all seen how the system can unfairly treat students with learning challenges. It's easy to see how these students get wounded by school. But what is absolutely incredible are all of the so called average students who get wounded by school. With over ten years of field research behind her, Kirsten's findings are staggering.
The following are types of school wounds with an example from each category:
Creativity - Denial of what we are passionate about, or for what we have affinity, in favor of what is conventionally expected.
Compliance - Feeling that obeying the rules, especially in school, is of paramount importance for approval, for acceptance.
Rebellion - In response to being unsuccessful, or being told we are not worthy in school, fighting, acting out, becoming hostile.
Numbness - Loss of feeling around learning, numbness, being zoned out, diminishment of vitality around learning.
Underestimation - Outright denial of access to learning due to assumptions made about the learner.
Perfectionism - Sense that what we have done in school is never enough.
Of the Average - Feeling unseen, unknown, undersold in school.
Kirsten expands on these along with why schools wound in the first place. She weaves case studies throughout the book to help clarify her points.
A work like Kirsten's wouldn't be complete without showcasing a method for healing the wounds. She devotes the second half of the book to how people heal, stages of healing, parents, students and teachers who heal and wounded schools.
If you went to school, you'll no doubt be able to relate to Wounded by School. And that's what makes it so fascinating!
This book was smoked-n-signed.
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