Weaving Connections

In an era characterized by globalization, capitalism and a consumer society, this book is a breath of fresh air for home economic practitioners who are striving to bring balance to their practice to counter the prevailing market, neo-liberal mind set that is threatening the environment, peace, social justice and human potential.

Weaving Connections is a collection of 22 essays from Canadian educators, many of whom have an international reputation- David Selby, Gale Smith, Graham Pike, Linda Peterat and Toh Swee-Hin (UNESCO 2000 award for Peace Education). For a profession that is focused on well-being and quality of life of individuals, families and communities, this book brings a welcome collection of thought-provoking essays that challenge educational reforms which focus on corporate intrusion, conformist notions of citizenship, centralization of power in the hands of a few from the top down, 'learning for earning', and outcome-based performance and measurability. This collection of essays is founded on a collection of values conductive to home economic practice: diversity, tolerance, respect, harmony, balance, equity and justice. I agree with David Selby's observation that 'the 22 writers are one in calling for participatory, critical and democratic learning processes, horizontal (as opposed to vertical) power relationships between teacher and learner, combined with inner journeying, and a shift away from teaching in the traditional sense to teaching as facilitation.' (pp.389-390).....

One comment by Selby (p.25) really struck me as I read this collection. To paraphrase his notion, anyone who limits their attention to one of these issues is unlikely to feel kinship with others. I would suggest that anyone who reads this volume will automatically feel a powerful kinship with a growing collection of people who are concerned with power relations and human relationships which place the earth as the central focus and which hold common concerns for peace, social justice and environmental integrity. He also said that the book shared ideas about the ways in which people learn for personal and social change (p.389). I highly, highly recommend this book for members of our profession who are on a personal and professional journey towards new ways of viewing the world and their place in that world!

At a time when educators may be looking more critically at the relationship between the role of schooling in a democratic society and building peace in the world, Weaving Connections: Educating for Peace, Social and Environmental Justice raises important issues and offers hopeful suggestions for addressing the aims expressed in the subtitle: educating for peace and justice. In this post- September 11th world, questions abound only to be met with a paucity of answers with which to understand the complexities and historical underpinnings of the current world situation.

Weaving Connections examines the "educations" which are often considered peripheral to the "core" subjects of schooling, yet which address the underlying question of many educators: "What are we educating for?" The book is a collection of 14 essays which, together, offer philosophies and approaches to education on human rights, peace, environmental concerns and sustainability issues, documented through the lenses of 22 practitioners who have endured through the ups and downs of trends and funding in these areas and who bring considerable insights and warnings to future directions in education....

The challenge for teachers, whether of kindergarten or high school, will be to sort through this wealth of possibility to determine for themselves the key characteristics that will be required of citizens of tomorrow and to shape their current practice to reflect those needs. In a time of so many competing interests knocking on the classroom door and of struggle for adequate resources, Weaving Connections may provide teachers with the hope and vision for a holistic approach to educating for "peace, social and environmental justice."

...Several essays in the collection are outstanding. Maxine Bramble's "Black Education in Canada: Past, Present and Future" both documents the history of segregated education in Canada and includes a succinct section on Contemporary Issues in Black Education. Lyndsay Moffatt's "Education for Gender Equity" is exceptionally well written and includes a necessary section on What About the Boys? Susan Dion Fletcher's "Molded Images: First Nations People, Representation and the Ontario School Curriculum" is a pithy piece in which she posits the notion that neither multicultural nor anti-racist education "offer an opportunity to investigate the impact of colonialism" and therefore neither model fully meets the needs of the people from the First Nations community nor the interests of the dominant community who need a better model for learning about the post-contact relationship between the First Nations and Canadians.....The editors are to be congratulated for including "Reading Between the Lines: Examining Assumptions in Health Education" by Gale Smith and Linda Peterat which includes a fascinating critique of how social class has influenced health education.....

Tim McCaskell and Vanessa Russell's essay "Anti-Homophobia Initiatives at the Former Toronto Board of Education" is especially good at documenting the development of a strategy for putting anti-homophobia on the agenda and how advocates fought back against massive resistance....

Weaving Connections makes a valuable contribution to understanding 20 years of progressive education in Canada. And it can help us do it better next time the political winds shift and we have another opportunity to shape educational theory and practice in Canada.