Description
Book SynopsisThe second edition of What Schools Teach Us About Religious Life continues to explore the ways in which private education in the United States mirrors the growing complexity and fluidity of religious life in the United States. Through the study of ten different private schoolsrepresenting a wide variety of religious traditions as well as some secular institutionsa picture of contemporary culture, and the place of religious belief within the culture, emerges. Each chapter of this second edition of What Schools Teach Us About Religious Life contains a different picture of how individual schools then address that culture.
Trade Review“In this study—now in its second edition—of ten private (PreK–12) schools throughout the United States, veteran educator Daniel Heischman takes us into the lived worlds of these institutions, probing the unique missions and practices of each. What Heischman sees there tells not only a story of each particular school, but of the complex and shifting religious terrain of American life today. Finding commonalities among the most religiously diverse of schools, as well as noting how non-sectarian schools frequently intersect with the dynamics of a rapidly changing religious landscape, Heischman shows how schools serve as worthy barometers and mediators of contemporary religious life. “Page after page provides fresh insight and rich narrative on how schools foster a life of faith, develop a sense of service, and enrich the spirit.” Joseph McTighe, Executive Director, Council for American Private Education
“In our work with divinity students who are preparing for careers in schools, Daniel Heischman’s book provides ample evidence that not only can we engage in religious issues in schools, we must do so.” Jere A. Wells, Director, Educational Leadership and Ministry Program (ELM), Berkeley Divinity School at Yale
“Heischman’s seasoned perspective helps him articulate the challenges these schools face in their attempt to give a young person a place and voice in a small universe, but his perspective also allows him to see the larger social universe to which schools belong.” Matthew W. Geiger, former faculty member, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School (VA)
Table of ContentsForeword and Acknowledgments – Introduction: Overflowing Containers – Doing Both – A Bold American Experiment – The Elephant in the Corner? – Unashamedly Unapologetic – That Long, Funny Word – Educating Hearts and Minds – Minding the Light – Delving into the Difficult – Changing the Narrative – Religious Connectivity – Conclusion: Gentler Souls.
