Description
Book SynopsisWhat makes someone educated? Is it getting a perfect score on a standardized test or passing a prescribed curriculum? Is it landing a good job after high school? In this book, Howard Good answers these questions imaginatively using the beloved movie classic, The Wizard of Oz as a metaphor for the quest for a well-rounded education. It is the author's theory that the main characters in the story represent the four essential educational goals. Adding together what Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and Dorothy want (brains, a heart, courage, and a home, respectively), gives you a complete education. Features: · A chapter devoted to each character of The Wizard of Oz and the object of his or her quest · An epilogue that examines what kind of teacher the Wizard is and how he could become a better one · Classroom activities that teachers can use to develop empathy, moral courage, a love of learning, and a sense of belonging Illustrated with many anecdotes from Good's experiences as a parent, teacher, and school board member, The Theory of Oz challenges education's current preoccupation with testing and sorting students according to one national standard. It provides inspiration as well as realistic advice for teachers and others interested in empowering students.
Trade ReviewAnyone who thinks the educational system needs to be revamped may want to take a jaunt down the metaphorical yellow brick road of The Theory of Oz: Rediscovering the Aims of Education. [This book]...includes chapters titled 'Brains', 'Heart', 'Courage', and 'Home', elements that Good expounds upon as critical to a complete education. [The author] uses anecdotes from his experiences as a parent, teacher and former school-board member as well as known and little-known aspects of The Wizard of Oz, both the movie classic and the book, to illustrate his ideas. * Daily Freeman, (Kingston, Ny) *
SUNY New Paltz professor of journalism Good weds the Ivory Tower to the Yellow Brick Road in a heavily footnoted book that challenges the primacy of standardized testing, urging teachers to frame education as a search for Brains, Heart, Courage, and Home. * Chronogram *
Howard Good...looks at the current education system and its preoccupation with testing and sorting students according to one national standard. [The book] provides teachers with advice on helping students find a love for learning and giving them a sense of belonging. * Poughkeepsie Journal, (Poughkeepsie, Ny) *
The author, a journalism professor and former school board president, explores the metaphoric connections between education goals and the four travelers in The Wizard of Oz. He examines the desires of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and Dorothy, and suggests activities to help teachers in developing in their students a love of learning, empathy, moral courage, and a sense of belonging. * Education Week *
