Description
Book SynopsisAs many young adults continue to disengage with learning each day, teachers and administrators struggle to find ways to re-engage secondary students with their schooling and communities.
Re-engaging Disconnected Youth profiles a program that succeeds in doing so, one that can serve as a model for others. In a Midwestern alternative school, three teachers built a curriculum around hands-on learning, restorative justice Talking Circles, and multicultural education, in the hopes that it would re-engage and inspire youth. Drawing on Adult Transformative Learning Theory, the book is an in-depth, qualitative study of the ways the program transformed adult and youth perceptions of trust, connections, schooling and human rights. It breaks down stereotypes about youth labeled at-risk and provides evidence that it is never too late to become passionate about learning. This new revised edition includes updated research and a chapter exploring the impact of the program on middle school y
Table of ContentsContents: Program Design and Implementation – A History of the Experiential Outdoor Education Program - Westward Bound Expedition Closing Circle, June 2006 – Heading West: Hands-on Learning and Outdoor Education Increases Student Motivation - Factors That Influenced Transformative Learning: Hands-on Spontaneous Education - Factors That Influenced Transformative Learning: Separation From «Normal» Life - Factors That Influenced Transformative Learning: Nature – Restoring Community: The Impact of Restorative Justice Circles on Student Feelings of Connectedness - School Connectedness - Restorative Justice Overview - Restorative Justice in Schools - The School-to-Prison Pipeline - The Origin of Peacemaking Circles - Philosophy of Circles - Components of a Talking Circle - Causes of School Disconnection - Circle Fosters Positive Student - Teacher Relationships - Circle Shifts Student Perceptions of Each Other - Shared Experience, Mutual Respect/Trust, and Relatedness - Connectedness - Additional Results of Circle Experience - Forgiveness and Circle - Healing and Circle – Multicultural Education, Human Rights Education, and Teaching for Social Justice: Transforming Ideas About History, Racial Identity, and Service - Content Integration - Knowledge Construction - Transformational Learning via Wounded Knee - Prejudice Reduction - Racism and Circle - Equity Pedagogy - Culturally Relevant Practices - Human Rights Education - Social Justice in Education - Promoting Justice for Students – The Impact of Westward Bound on Middle School Learners - Needs Assessment - Unique Needs of Middle School Youth - The Middle School Program - Middle School Results: Hands-on Learning - Middle School Results: The Impact of Talking Circles - Extending the Boundaries of Transformative Learning - Afterword: Teacher as Transformative Learner (2011).
