Book Review: “Girls on the Brink” Donna J. Nakazawa

Girls on the Brink brings together personal stories of young women, neuroscience and social science to bring an understanding of the biological, societal and personal forces acting on girls. Her thesis is this: I don’t present this research to amplify fear, but rather as a clarion call to change the landscape in which girls come…
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Book Review: “Stolen Focus” (Johann Hari)

Stolen Focus, Why you Can’t Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again, by Johann Hari, is a game-changer for me. It captures the tension, the friction, the challenge, opportunity and hope that faces education in the face of diminishing ability to think deeply, pay mindful attention, and to learn deeply. This book explores…
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Book Review: WAYI WAH! by Jo Chrona

Jo Chrona is an educator, philosopher and Two-Spirited woman of RTs’msyen and European Heritage, and this book is the latest in her efforts and passion for creating systemic change to build a truly inclusive experience for all learners. In this way, the book focusses on Indigenous Knowlege (IK) through a larger lens of anti-racist education….
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Book Review: The Real World of College (Fischman & Gardner)

We conclude that if higher education in the United States is to be successful in the twenty-first century, it needs to be sharply REFRAMED. Pervasive issues of mental health and belonging must be addressed; extensive onboarding is needed with respect to the centrality of the academic educational agenda; any goal that is not strictly tied…
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Book Review: “Potlach as Pedagogy” (Sara Florence Davidson & Robert Davidson)

“Potlatch as Pedagogy” was recommended to me by Mike Carlson, a teacher at Wandering Spirits school (TDSB) and an Indigenous educational consultant. This book strongly resonates with “The Nordic Secret” and “Ecological Learning“, in that the approaches are student-centred, holistic and reciprocal. What I really enjoyed about this book was the 9 Principles of “Sk’ad’a”,…
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Book Review: Ecological Learning (F. Steiner)

As you may have noticed from latest book reviews (The Nordic Secret & The Future of Learning), I am doing more research that dives into some historical and contemporary examinations on the purpose of education. in particular, education as preventative medicine: not learning about the conflicts and injustices alone;  rather, (and at a very high…
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