In A Child's Work, innovative and widely respected educator Vivian Gussin Paley offers a manifesto against the decline of children's creative time, making the case for the critical role of fantasy play in the psychological, intellectual, and social development of young children. Paley speaks from firsthand experience about the limitless growth of young children who are allowed the time for fantasy play as she enters classrooms around the globe to explore the stunningly original language of these children in their role-playing and storytelling. Drawing from their own words, Paley examines the developing logic and learning that allow children to construct meaning in their worlds, meaning that is crucial to their adult lives. Proof that play is the work of children, this compelling and enchanting book will inspire and instruct teachers and parents as well as point to a fundamental misdirection in today's educational programs and strategies.
Vivian Gussin Paley, a kindergarten and nursery school teacher for thirty-seven years, primarily at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, has received numerous awards and accolades, including a MacArthur Award and, most recently, the John Dewey Society's Outstanding Achievement Award. She is the author of eleven books, three of which are published by the University of Chicago Press.
Title: A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play
Author: Paley, Vivian Gussin
ISBN: 9780226644899
Binding:
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Publication Date: 2005-06-07
Number of Pages: 112
Weight: 0.1134 kg
This irresistible book is Vivian Gussin Paley at her very best.... Paley's defence of fantasy play is fuelled by urgency and a passionate interest in children and everything they do.... [A Child's Work also includes] story after powerful story from Paley's magnificent anthology of the imagination, all collected from 'natural born storytellers who create their own dramatic literature.' The case she makes is convincing because, in generous moves of self-analysis, she shows us her own learning, her own coming to understand. - Mary Jane Drummond, Times Education Supplement; America's children have in Vivian Gussin Paley an extraordinarily knowing and thoughtful observer - indeed, a resourceful teacher who has so much to tell us about how our country's young people live, learn, grow, in mind, heart and spirit. Here is a book brimming with brave wisdom that will help us parents and teachers understand how our sons and daughters, our students come to terms with life through their minds' activity. - Robert Coles author of The Moral Intelligence of Children; Paley does children a great service by reminding us of the enormous value of fantasy play. - San Francisco Ghronicle Book Review
