Product Description
Now in Paperback “This remarkable set of essays defines the role of imagination in general education, arts education, aesthetics, literature, and the social and multicultural context…. The author argues for schools to be restructured as places where students reach out for meanings and where the previously silenced or unheard may have a voice. She invites readers to develop processes to enhance and cultivate their own visions through the application of imagination and the arts. Releasing the Imagination should be required reading for all educators, particularly those in teacher education, and for general and academic readers.”–Choice “Maxine Greene, with her customary eloquence, makes an impassioned arg… More >>
Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts, and Social Change
#1 by kilgore trout on February 24, 2010 - 7:01 am
The Dialectic of Freedom was the first book of Dr. Greene’s that I read. I read Releasing the Imagination next, and referenced it in writing my educational portfolio for a master’s degree. I plan to continue reading Dr. Greene’s work since she focuses on imaginative literature when making many of her arguments. This provided some solid support for my thesis, which included among other suggestions, that the imagination must have attention paid to it. This is a collection of Greene’s essays, and they’re generally easy to read. I would actually recommend reading this first before The Dialectic of Freedom; it’s a bit more accessible.
Rating: 4 / 5
#2 by Argus Human Rights on February 24, 2010 - 7:29 am
Maxine Greene defends the role of the arts as social medicine and advancement. She brilliantly argues for maintaining art in curriculum. Art often requires of us to imagine things which do not exist in reality. This excercise is vital in creating social change. In order to create a new and better world, we must first imagine it. We must encourage our children (and adults for that matter) to imagine. That’s the first step and I feel society becoming less imaginative and more homogenized. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!!! AND BUY A COPY FOR A TEACHER.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by S. Eberhard on February 24, 2010 - 7:34 am
This was a required text for a literacy studies graduate class. The context was pedagogically provoking along the threads of progressive modern education standards that are taught to budding teachers. Some repetition was present as it is a lengthy text with a primary focus and one author. My classmates and I were a bit disappointed with the lack of example and proposals for the curriculum/pedagogy changes being presented. This is a text to be read for establishing perspective not for quick tips or golden ticket ideas.
Rating: 4 / 5