Educating the Whole Child

I love to listen to National Public Radio (NPR) because it offers so many interesting information on many topics.

Educating the Whole Child: Listen online or download free MP3 from Human Media.


Bringing out the highest part of young people

What is the duty to impart wisdom to the next generation? Besides prepping kids for tests and teaching them technical skills, what kind of human beings should parents and teachers seek to raise?

"Educating the Whole Child" includes these 8 half-hour segments:

1. Two inspired veteran teachers, Parker Palmer ("The Courage to Teach") and Nel Noddings ("Caring") offer a provocative vision of educating "the whole person".
2. Journey with us to a Vermont elementary school where a folklore professor teaches age-old wisdom proverbs to enthusiastic kids.
3. At a time when young people need guidance to make wise choices in the face of powerful social influences, hear these helpful ideas from authors Jon and Myla Kabat-Zinn, a couple with three children.
4. Darrell Scott, whose 17-year-old daughter Rachel died tragically at Columbine High, leads a movement to reach out to alienated youth and promote compassion.
5. Children's advocate and National Book Award-winner Jonathan Kozol celebrates the heroes he's met in poor neighborhoods where dedicated teachers and clergy give children hope.
6. This powerful documentary chronicles a remarkable family of Mississippi share-croppers who risked their lives to get a good education.
7. and 8. We hear from teachers, students, parents and the principal at Maryland's South Carroll High--cited by the U.S. Dept. of Education for "character education" that promotes voluntary service and respect for diversity.