Building Empathy in Children through Community Connections


Book Description

Taking a unique approach, which highlights lived experience and engagement with community, this book guides the reader on how to create learning environments in which children are encouraged to develop relationships, build meaningful connections and take action which contributes to the wellbeing of their own communities. Through evaluations and feedback from participating professionals, as well as children’s learning in the form of artworks and photos, Building Empathy in Children through Community Connections: A Guide for Early Years Educators highlights how community partnership programs between children and community groups builds empathy and wellbeing in early childhood. Drawing on extensive research and professional experience in psychology and early childhood, it provides details of various community connections programs and considers the ways in which early learning settings can engage with their communities as they meet the requirements and objectives of the curriculum. Each chapter provides practical advice on implementation as well as take-home messages intended to encourage and enable community engagement. Demonstrating how young children can develop empathy through building community connections, this book is a vital resource for early childhood educators as well as parents and those working in community programs and early childhood settings.




Making Community Connections


Book Description

Making Community Connections: The Orton Family Foundation Community Mapping Program is designed to bring teams of teachers and their students together with community members to study a problem, a resource, a condition -- any matter of interest and importance to the community. The school work includes gathering and examining existing information, discovering new facts through field investigation, and mapping the resource using GIS/GPS tools. Not only do the students meet and work with community mentors and experts who participate in the classroom and help with the field studies, they also typically hold public forums to gather input on the resource and their work. At the end of the semester or project the students hold a public forum to present their work in a variety of forms (including video conferences, speeches and presentations, reading of narratives, display of hand-drawn maps, GIS maps, etc.), providing a body of research to the community, which can be used to address immediate concerns and help plan for the future. The use of the word "mapping" in the name of the program indicates the importance of, and the commitment to, the use of GIS/GPS mapping technology. The Orton Family Foundation Community Mapping Program has found that the use of technology, and particularly this mapping technology, excites students and provides a powerful incentive to participate. However, the program, this book, and place-based education in general call for more than just the mapping of resources; they entail a more inclusive and integrative look at the world we all live in. Invariably, the Community Mapping Program makes more clearly visible the connections of the many and varied factors influencing or affecting the particular object of study. Concepts of sustainability, responsibility, integration, and the larger picture find their way into classroom discussions and are then mapped in a variety of ways. The materials in Making Community Connections have been constructed to provide a solid foundation and flexible framework for original projects created and developed by students, their teachers, and their communities, allowing explorations and investigations of places and problems of interest and concern to them. Book jacket.




The Neighborhood Project


Book Description

After decades studying creatures great and small, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson had an epiphany: Darwin's theory won't fully prove itself until it improves the quality of human life in a practical sense. And what better place to begin than his hometown of Binghamton, New York? Making a difference in his own city would provide a model for cities everywhere, which have become the habitat for over half of the people on earth. Inspired to become an agent of change, Wilson descended on Binghamton with a scientist's eye and looked at its toughest questions, such as how to empower neighborhoods and how best to teach our children. He combined the latest research methods from experimental economics with studies of holiday decorations and garage sales. Drawing upon examples from nature as diverse as water striders, wasps, and crows, Wilson's scientific odyssey took him around the world, from a cave in southern Africa that preserved the dawn of human culture to the Vatican in Rome. Along the way, he spoke with dozens of fellow scientists, whose stories he relates along with his own. Wilson's remarkable findings help us to understand how we must become wise managers of evolutionary processes to accomplish positive change at all scales, from effective therapies for individuals, to empowering neighborhoods, to regulating the worldwide economy. With an ambitious scope that spans biology, sociology, religion, and economics, The Neighborhood Project is a memoir, a practical handbook for improving the quality of life, and an exploration of the big questions long pondered by religious sages, philosophers, and storytellers. Approaching the same questions from an evolutionary perspective shows, as never before, how places define us.




That's Not How We Do It Here!


Book Description

What’s the worst thing you can hear when you have a good idea at work? “That’s not how we do it here!” In their iconic bestseller Our Iceberg Is Melting, John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber used a simple fable about penguins to explain the process of lead­ing people through major changes. Now, ten years later, they’re back with another must-read story that will help any team or organization cope with their biggest challenges and turn them into exciting opportunities. Once upon a time a clan of meerkats lived in the Kalahari, a region in southern Africa. After years of steady growth, a drought has sharply reduced the clan’s resources, and deadly vulture attacks have increased. As things keep getting worse, the har­mony of the clan is shattered. The executive team quarrels about possible solutions, and sugges­tions from frontline workers face a soul-crushing response: “That’s not how we do it here!” So Nadia, a bright and adventurous meerkat, hits the road in search of new ideas to help her trou­bled clan. She discovers a much smaller group that operates very differently, with much more teamwork and agility. These meerkats have developed innova­tive solutions to find food and evade the vultures. But not everything in this small clan is as perfect as it seems at first. Can Nadia figure out how to combine the best of both worlds—a large, disciplined, well-managed clan and a small, informal, inspiring clan—before it’s too late? This book distills Kotter’s decades of experi­ence and award-winning research to reveal why organizations rise and fall, and how they can rise again in the face of adversity.




Remember These Things: Neighborhood Connections


Book Description

Three middle-aged men who grew up in various states along the Northeast corridor migrated to the Washington D.C. area and by co-incidence moved into the same newly built neighborhood situated inside the Capital Beltway. They become friends practically immediately since they were of the same age group as were the ages of their wives and children. What cements their acquaintance and friendship is when they became aware they were all Vietnam veterans serving in different years and in divergent capacities, one an officer in the Army, the other an enlisted man in the same Army unit with the third serving as an enlisted Marine. They socialize often with their families and among themselves through children's sports events. Their youngsters attend the same elementary school which enhances their social and neighborhood connections. And there are many neighborhood gatherings that all neighbors were welcome to attend. What breaks this placid neighborhood scene are the recent activities of a robber/ opportunist rapist who perplexes the local police departments from advancing any type of lead. The vets through their walks and wanderings with their dogs in Rock Creek Park locate a possible hideout. They share their thoughts and memories of wartime experiences together and attempt to solve the issue without the use of lethal weapons. The story is about their quest for justice and their intimate friendship that proves that not all Vietnam vets turned to drugs and alcohol and became homeless vagabonds and isolated forest dwellers. Many of them like these three guys who still carried their wartime memories succeeded in life and became responsible professionals and caring citizens.




The Connections Project


Book Description







The Turquoise Table


Book Description

Loneliness is an epidemic right now, but it doesn't have to be that way. The Turquoise Table is Kristin Schell's invitation to you to connect with your neighbors and build friendships. Featured in Southern Living, Good Housekeeping, and the TODAY Show, Kristin introduces a new way to look at hospitality. Desperate for a way to slow down and connect, Kristin put an ordinary picnic table in her front yard, painted it turquoise, and began inviting friends and neighbors to join her. Life changed in her community, and it can change in yours too. Alongside personal and heartwarming stories, Kristin gives you: Stress-free ideas for kick-starting your own Turquoise Table Simple recipes to take outside and share with others Stories from people using Turquoise Tables in their neighborhoods Encouragement to overcome barriers that keep you from connecting This gorgeous book, with vibrant photography, invites you to make a difference right where you live. The beautiful design makes it ideal to give to a friend or to keep for yourself. Community and friendship are waiting just outside your front door.