Block, a high school teacher and teacher educator, explains how teachers can change the school experience using project-based learning in English and history classrooms to engage students in current issues within their society and community. He emphasizes the idea that relationships are the basis of all teaching and learning and that they can change students' and teachers' understandings of themselves and their roles in society, illustrating how student work is a manifestation of a living democracy that continually develops new social and individual narratives through deep analysis, critical reflection, and creative expression. He explains how teaching for a living democracy means using classroom practices and curriculum that result in students developing a stance of self-awareness, critical thought, participation, and social agency to develop understandings of their voice and abilities; the importance of framing learning as inquiry and teachers taking on the roles of guides and intellectual leaders to assist students as they produce work; and understanding students different life experiences, creativity, and capabilities, rather than viewing them as lacking knowledge. He describes classroom practices and processes for planning inquiry and project-based units that lead to learning experiences where students create knowledge, discussing different units of study and designing curriculum for deeper learning; different ways for emphasizing the experiences and lives of students in the process of academic inquiry; how teachers can change the dynamics of classroom learning by taking on different roles to support student growth, such as facilitator, lead collaborator, consultant, and scholar; ways to decolonize school, based on insights from New Zealand schools; and examples of classroom discomfort and friction that occur when teaching for a living democracy. Annotation ©2020 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
