Because We Can Change the World: A Practical Guide to Building Cooperative, Inclusive Classroom Communities

By Mara Sapon-Shevin

Book Overview

"Because We Can Change the World is a powerful antidote to the bullying, intolerance, and exclusion that are all too commonplace in our schools. Through helpful insights, practical strategies, and a powerful vision grounded in social justice, this book gives teachers the inspiration and hope they need to carry on."
--Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"I have personally seen classroom cultures completely transformed as a result of using the techniques in this book. If you don′t already use this book to promote community, collaboration, and inclusion in your school, do it immediately so students can learn that inclusion is more than a place or a policy--it is a commitment to acceptance, an honoring of difference, and, as Sapon-Shevin so eloquently reminds us, a belief that we just might ′change the world.′"
--Paula Kluth, Educational Consultant

Change the world, one classroom at a time

It is impossible for most students to achieve academically if they do not feel safe, supported, welcomed, and accepted. By structuring democratic classrooms as models of diversity, cooperation, and inclusion, teachers can help children learn skills and values that lay a foundation for good citizenship and will make a differences in their lives now and in the future.

Mara Sapon-Shevin provides a unique vision of elementary classrooms that allow all children to experience academic success. This long-awaited new edition of a highly acclaimed book:

Calls on all educators to create diverse, inclusive classrooms and promote social justiceDiscusses the barriers to creating cooperative classrooms and how they can be overcomeIncludes activities, songs, and children′s literature that promote acceptance and understandingIncludes new "Reframing Our Work" sections with reflective questions that help readers examine their own beliefs and teaching practices

With updated resources and a stronger emphasis on differentiated instruction, Because We Can Change the World gives teachers the vision, courage, and strategies to make the world a better place, starting with their own classrooms.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1412978386
• ISBN13: 9781412978385
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: Corwin Publishers
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.4" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

A MUST for elementary teachers in inclusive schools

In my work as a teacher educator, I recommend this book constantly. Filled with songs, stories, and examples, it is practical and filled with ideas to use on Monday morning. The thing I like best about it is that it does more than recommend that teachers build community - it provides activities that can be used daily in inclusive classrooms.

Classroom Community Can Happen

If you are a teacher or a person who cares about children this is the book for you. As a teacher I have used this book and have had fantastic results. Creating an environment for students that is positve and inclusive is the only way teachers can end violence and negativity in their classrooms. This book is pack full of activities that will help build a caring community of students in the classroom. The activities also transcend the school environment. It is perfect for companies who want to build employee relationships that are positive and productive. If I could only describe the author in one word it would be Amazing. I have met her and she is as caring in person as she in the book. This woman has dedicated her life to making a difference and it shows. Buy the book it will be the best thing you ever did!

Building community

This is simply the best all round book on building community in schools available. The author wonderfully integrates practical strategies on the education of very diverse learners together -- in terms of ability, race, culture, language. It is a book filled with gentleness and grace yet solidly based on research and practical information. This book should be read and daily used by every elementary teacher!

A book that can make a difference

I really enjoyed the way Mara Sapon-Shevin writes -- everything flows, everything is connected, and her choice of words is apt and evocative. It's also very well organized. Her ideas are elegant and yet simple, clear, and concise. She names the problems that exist and ways to address them, and illustrates them well with clear examples. I found her discussions of competition, cooperation, children's feelings, etc., most interesting. I can see why she's sought after as a speaker across the country and world. She expresses ideas that our world needs, and expresses them fluently, passionately, honestly (sharing her own experiences), and convincingly.

A must read for every person involved in education!

This book is the perfect balance of inclusive philosophy and practical classroom how-tos. It rejuvinates the reader, reminding them of the need and possibility of teaching effectively, caringly and inclusively. Teachers and others will come away from this book with a wealth of useful tools, new ideas and practical ways to create caring classrooms where all teachers and students belong and progress together. This book leaves you feeling you truely can "Change the world" and gives you the tools and motivation you need to do it!