Life in a Crowded Place: Making a Learning Community by Ralph Peterson

by Ralph Peterson

This book is not only for classroom teachers, but for school staffs to read and discuss together so as to build whole, caring schools.- Whole Language Teachers Association No one will deny that life in classrooms is an intense social experience. Crowded together with students for six or more hours a day in a space no bigger than a large living room, the immediate response of most teachers is to maintain control and enforce obedience. But creating a community - bringing students together and keeping them together - is the most vital aspect of a teacher's work. Without it, real learning cannot take place, as even the soundest philosophies and techniques amount to little without a community to bring them to life. The concept of community in the classroom is certainly not new, but little has been said about what makes up a community, how it is created, and what functions it fulfills. In Life in a Crowded Place , Ralph Peterson helps teachers see what it is they do when they bring students together to make a community. The hope here is to show teachers what is going on - to identify and name - so that they can exercise greater control over their work and understand the kind of learning community they are making (or need to make) and how that community functions to influence the quality of learning and life in elementary and middle school. Readers of this book acquire language for identifying and understanding the community-making aspect of their work identify ways they can work with their students to make a learning community initiate teaching and learning that is centered in critique and dialogue gain an understanding of the importance of the social in learning andthe benefit of community.

Genres: Teaching, Professional Development

Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book grabbed my attention. While many of the ideas presented were not new ideas, it was nice to see the ideas presented in a way that supported holistic teaching and bringing a learning community together.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peterson makes a good point about the importance of rites and ritual in the building of a classrooom community but there are only so many ways you can say "rites and ritual are important" and so many examples you can give before starting to sound redundant. Read the first chapter, that's all you need.

[Kaitlyn]

Life in a Crowded Place is a book about Peterson's personal experiences in a classroom. He goes from teacher at a high-end private school to teach at a lower socioeconomic area. He describes how the different the kids are and how different he has to teach. It was comforting as a future teacher to read this and know that I will struggle but ultimately, because I care I will succeed.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt there were a many great ideas in this book that I would like to see applied in our new charter school.