Books in the Counterpoints series

Perspectives in Critical Thinking makes accessible some of the best teaching practices and theoretical discussions concerning critical thinking in the United States. Covering a wide range of topics that focus on issues such as primary school education, middle school instruction, service learning, journal writing, mathematics education and social science instruction, this selection of diverse contributors offers a varied selection of readings that contemplate how teaching can become a powerful experience for both educators and students alike. The essays concentrate on practical considerations that focus on classroom learning within a critical theoretical context and offer immediate strategies, techniques and examples that are designed for any educator interested in transforming learning into a truly profound experience. By focusing on critical theory that is practical and accessible to the reader, as well as practice that is immediately translatable into classroom practice, Perspectives in Critical Thinking is an indispensable resource for teachers, administrators, policymakers, and anyone interested in profound challenges to current educational theory and practice.

Forging an Educative Community tells the story of a public school classroom, where relations are fostered to promote democratic participation within intellectual engagement. In forging an educative community, teacher and students develop relations of trust, sense-making, and compassionate imagination, which in turn engender a sense of belonging, all essential elements of an educative community. This book illustrates the challenges and barriers to forming such a community in classrooms, particularly the underside of a sense of belonging that carries with it a terror of being transformed ¿ a terror that can subside only with a trust that belonging will not require us to give up who we are.

Idiots: Stories about Mindedness and Mental Retardation is a book about four children and the people who, in many respects, define their humanity. Mindedness is a quality associated with humanity that receives little attention in the scientific literature of mental retardation. The children's stories are written against the prevailing glare of the diagnoses traditional canon. Confronting mental retardation as a socially constructed disease that implies having something less than a mind, this book speaks to the rewards awaiting those who are willing to look beyond the disciplinary boundaries that define the diagnosis.