Teachers College Press Mending Education: Finding Hope, Creativity, and Mental Wellness in Times of Trauma

Discover how the crisis of a global pandemic allowed educators to improve learning across the pre–K–adult pipeline. While acknowledging the scale of loss and difficulty the COVID pandemic engendered within the field of education, this book focuses on how sudden and forced changes to teaching and learning created “Pandemic Positives,” which can be captured and brought to scale. In particular: Part I addresses how Pandemic Positives came into being, with special attention to the presence of educator hope and creativity. Part II explores the Pandemic Positives that arose in three settings: when schools were closed, when learning turned online, and when schools re-opened. Part III provides strategies for replicating the Pandemic Positives so they become positive educational game changers. This book is grounded on trauma and mental wellness theory and includes the in-the-trenches experiences and voices of educators. The text features art created by the coauthors and shares both their professional and personal experiences, humanizing and enriching the book. Mending Education completes a trilogy composed of Breakaway Learners and Trauma Doesn’t Stop at the School Door by Karen Gross. Book Features: Focuses on what has been ignored in education in any organized and cohesive fashion— how the pandemic actually improved education if we have the courage and will to see those positives and implement them. Filled with the voices of educators—their spoken words that are often ignored or not understood, appreciated, or implemented. Includes an epilogue that is an actual conversation between the authors based on a set of questions, allowing them to share their thoughts and feelings about the book and its positive messages. Designed to be used in classrooms and in policy discussions—all in an effort to improve education for every student. Shares the professional and personal experiences of the authors, including their own individual experiences with trauma—a personal and revelatory read.