Teaching as if Life Matters: The Promise of a New Education Culture

by Christopher Uhl, Dana L. Stuchul (Primary Contributor)

What would it be like to teach as if life matters? To move beyond the typical regimen of classroom exercises, homework, and standardized tests and to guide students through life’s most important lessons? Dissatisfied with traditional educational models, Christopher Uhl and Dana L. Stuchul asked themselves these questions. What they discovered will open the eyes of today’s educators to a whole new way of teaching. The authors promote an approach that fosters self-knowledge, creativity, curiosity, and an appreciation for our planet. Central to their philosophy is the question of what we humans need in order to live meaningful lives. The answer: healthy relationships with ourselves, each other, and the world. Teaching as if Life Matters is an open letter to teachers offering guidance and encouragement for nurturing students in ways that make teaching and learning meaningful. In short, it is a passionate plea for transformative teaching. Informed by the alternative educational philosophies of John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, and Ivan Illich, this book invites teachers and students to participate in a new culture of education. This fascinating and urgently needed book will inspire today’s educators to inspire their students.

Genres: Teaching

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 21, 2011

Reviews

[Colin Baumgartner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Many of the ideas in it are refreshing. Much of it has to do with the mental shift that is necessary to accomplish a change in education. This is the greatest strength of the book—locating the power for change in a mental paradigm shift rather than with the larger-than-life institutions where the possibility for change is usually posited.

Uhl pulls from some lovely thinkers and educators (Palmer, Orr, and Jensen to name a few). I also appreciated how Uhl brought his spiritual beliefs to the conversation and addressed things like mindfulness and loving-care practices.

Some of the ecological sections of the book felt slightly repetitive, but I can see why Uhl was keen on driving the point home and emphasizing the importance of environmental awareness.

Glad to have read the book & disappointed to not have taken a course with Uhl while at Penn State...

[Ayushi Delvadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invites the reader to look at an educator, learner and their relationship with a more wholistic perspective. The authors touch on some key areas where the current education desperately needs to be reevaluated at - such as the timed structure of lessons divided by subject, the general attitude towards questions and children being looked at as vessels to pour knowledge into. I found the suggested shift from a teacher being an authority figure that knows things and should be followed, to a teacher being a light and a guide to the curiosity of the students to be the most interesting. The authors delved into the content with examples instead of just stating vague concepts. Overall its a good book, if you are a teacher of any capacity in any area of education, give it a read!

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how Christopher Uhl speaks to life as relationship. Relationship to self, fellow man, and world. I think his ideas on non-violent communication are fantastically helpful. In fact, I'm attempting to use them with colleagues that have a way of frazzling me. However, I think the hardest bit to swallow was his the activities he suggests to enter into a relationship with the world. Some, I thought were just a bit too far-fetched for the beginner. For instance, I'm just not ready to perform, let alone instruct students, to hug a treat and breath deeply the oxygen from the tree and exhale Carbon-dioxide for the tree. I might be lost in a stigma, but surely i'm not the only one. I just wish he would have had some more beginner steps. However, the ideas on active observation within nature, ourselves and others were spot on. I did head to a state park after the read, believing that nature was prepared to speak if I was prepared to listen. I guess that will be good enough for now.