At the Center of All Possibilities

Doug Selwyn taught for 14 years in the Seattle Public Schools and then moved to teacher education, in 2000, first at Antioch University in Seattle, and then for 10 years at SUNY Plattsburgh where he was a Professor of Education until he retired in 2017. He has written several books on education, his most recent, All Children Are All Our Children, published in 2019 with Peter Lang. He can be reached at dougselwyn@aol.com.

Acknowledgments – Introduction – Richard Wilkinson: (De)- Graded by Inequality – Stephen Bezruchka: Teaching Knowledge and Action to Promote Health Improvement – Doug Selwyn: The Purpose of Education: A Brief History – Sandra Mathison/E. Wayne Ross: Beyond Education as Usual: Public Education in a Post- Covid World – Jo Cripps: Love in the Time of Covid – Peter Suruda: The Remote Suburbs – Don Fels: Risk, Inquiry, and Learning – Social Studies, Intersectionality, and the Re Humanizing of Education: A Conversation with Jerry Price – Alberto "Beto" Gutierrez: Contextualizing Student Needs Post Pandemic – Jean Mendoza/Debbie Reese: Dear Educators: An Open Letter about How You Teach about Native Peoples – Black Lives Matter at School: A Conversation with Jesse Hagopian – Yves Salomon- Fernández: Evolving Higher Education for a New Consciousness – Jan Maher: Disposed to Democracy – Alyssa Arnell/Leo Hwang/Linda McCarthy: Finding Our Paths to Social Justice Education – Transforming the Teacher Corps: A Conversation with Wayne Au – Caroline Whitcomb: Freedom Schools – Assessing What Matters: A Conversation with Jack Schneider – Assessing What Matters: A Conversation with Jack Schneider – Greta Thunberg: School Strike for Climate: Save the World by Changing the Rules – We Are Suing the U.S. Government: A Conversation with Aji Piper – Aji Piper’s Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (Excerpts) (April 4, 2019) – Final Thoughts (for Now) – Contributors.

“This collection offers practical and unprecedented ideas from a diverse and prestigious group of educators with equally diverse lived experiences. They are committed to helping teachers rethink their starting points, unlearn harmful practices, and commit to ongoing growth. Student belonging, advocacy, and truth is at the heart of their work. Listen to the voices for change and read the inspired words on these pages. Repeat. You will be inspired by the abundance of innovative thought and perspective taking.”
—Aimee Lafontaine, English teacher, reading specialist and interventionist, Hinsdale South High School, Hinsdale, IL

“I really like the book structure with the overarching themes that allow a reader to tackle heavy and important topics in a manageable and digestible fashion. This kind of book should be a staple in all teacher education programs! We should be grappling with these important questions at all levels of society and these conversations should be informing change and transformation.”
—Leslie Rome, Director, Youth and Teen Programs, University of Washington Continuum College

“This is a powerful text full of penetrating and persuasive analysis. What I enjoyed most is that it pulls back the curtains of power in a language that is accessible to multiple audiences. More importantly, the text weaves a politics of hope throughout. Many of the contributors, including Doug Selwyn, have been engaged in deep movement building and/or in theorizing and implementing transformative educational projects for years. A splendid achievement that will be integrated in multiple courses that I teach.”
—Ricardo D. Rosa, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth