The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter

Vivian Gussin Paley

Published by Harvard University Press 1991

The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter

Vivian Gussin Paley
Preface by: Robert Coles

https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674041868

Overview
Contents

About this book

The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter focuses on the challenge posed by the isolated child to teachers and classmates alike in the unique community of the classroom. It is the dramatic story of Jason—the loner and outsider—and of his ultimate triumph and homecoming into the society of his classmates.

Reviews

A tour de force… Years from now we may know the fruit of the trees Vivian Paley and her associates have planted. It will be easy, then, to recognize her former students. When asked to recall their kindergarten experiences, they surely will begin with the words, ‘Once upon a time…’
-- Thomas J. Cottle Chicago Tribune

The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter is, among other things, an original essay on the practice of teaching young children… Vivian Paley’s innovation is her use of children’s stories as a vehicle of instruction… Paley is an artist whose medium is children in the classroom. The end product of her year’s work is a group of children who can live comfortably with themselves and with one another. This group of children will soon scatter. But each child will always carry a bit of Vivian Paley along with him or her, and that is the way in which a gifted teacher’s art lives on.
-- David Elkind New York Times Book Review

For those interested in…the education of the spirit, this is finally a heartening and challenging book.
-- Geoff Fox Times Educational Supplement

There are many funny moments…[and] an attractive humility in Paley’s work… Anyone who was once a child, and especially those who were once helicopters, will enjoy it.
-- David Perkins Kansas City Star

Humanity, wisdom, and understanding are the words that come to mind when reading Paley’s latest book. She offers a view into the world of children that is respectful of their strengths and complexity… This book shines with an authenticity that comes from the voice of the teacher, not the observer… [It] should be required reading for all those working with children of any age. They and other readers will find it an absorbing and enlightening experience.
-- S. Sugarman Choice

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Foreword by ROBERT COLES Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Storytellers and Story Players Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Teacher and Theory-Maker Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
Jason’s Story Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
New Questions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 176

eBook

Published: July 1, 2009
ISBN: 9780674041868