- Hardcover: 144 pages
- Publisher: Harvard University Press (Sep 10 1992)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0674965892
- ISBN-13: 978-0674965898
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,074,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In this brief, ethereal and tender account of social relations among children, Paley--a kindergarten teacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a MacArthur grant recipient and the author of The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter --explores how to keep students from being ignored by their classmates. She describes what happened when she asked students ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade to debate the proposition "You Can't Say You Can't Play." Woven throughout Paley's lessons is a parable about loneliness and rejection, which enables readers to share a child's view of the world. What the kids have to say is enchanting and surprisingly wise. For example, should a "boss" determine who plays with whom, or should there be an election? As a sagacious second-grader observes: "See, the bad thing about voting is, if you don't vote for that person she'll see all the people who don't like her. If it's a boss that's only one person doesn't like you so you don't feel so bad.syntax of quote ok "
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This book on early education describes an experiment Paley conducted in her kindergarten classroom. Unhappy with the fact that children too quickly learn to ostracize unwanted classmates, Paley decided to make some changes. She created a new social order by posting a sign saying, "You Can't Say, You Can't Play." She hoped to enforce the new order with the series of stories included in this book, which utilize a group of stock characters, principally Magpie. Paley creates an enticing series of children's stories, but her thesis is problematic. As a text for teachers concerned with the moral life of children, it is neither a substantial nor a substantiated offering, and other authors may offer more help.
-Nancy E. Zuwiyya, Binghamton City Sch. District, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-Nancy E. Zuwiyya, Binghamton City Sch. District, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Turning sixty, I am more aware of the voices of exclusion in the classroom. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Turning sixty, I am more aware of the voices of exclusion in the classroom. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Touching and thought-provoking,
By
This review is from: You Can't Say You Can't Play (Paperback)
I'm a teacher and a mother of a preschooler, and someone who was *seriously* excluded as a child. This book had me in tears. Vivian Paley explores and challenges the commonly accepted practice of letting children exclude each other, showing how socially dominant children use exclusion as a weapon to enforce their dominance and what the negative consequences are for the group as a whole. She proposes a solution that may at first seem idealistic, but is just about building a culture of tolerance and problem-solving, and starting it from the youngest ages. A must-read for any teacher or parent.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Needless trees died for this effort,
By Lane Young "Teacher and Librarian" (Highland Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: You Can't Say You Can't Play (Paperback)
This leading and innovative educator has fallen short in this effort. Paley talks about the courage to create a classroom where a the children can't say "No" to someone else playing. Unfortunately for the reader, what should have been an excellent published article was needlessly stretched into a full-length book. In order to make it even remotely long enough to be a book, Paley includes a story, which hits the reader over the head with the parallels to the "real" events of Paley's classroom. Waste not your time reading this book, instead know that if you are a teacher perhaps you should institute a "you can't say you can't play" attitude in your classroom.
4.0 out of 5 stars
good premise, could have improved the execution of the book,
By
This review is from: You Can't Say You Can't Play (Paperback)
I picked up this book at my daughters' school parent lending library- a school that works hard to implement policies like 'you can't say you can't play' (YCSYCP) and it often works. It certainly works inter-age but problems remain between age-mates. I, too, was a rejected child many times and hate to see any child rejected. The author teaches kindergarten in a Chicago laboratory school and is troubled by the behaviour of children who are excluded and the children who exclude. She explores the idea of setting 'YCSYCP' as a rule by talking to her student and to older students. The younger children have a lot of questions about how the policy will work, and the older children think that if it becomes a rule early on in schooling, it has a better chance of working. Interwoven with the text is a story that the author uses to illustrate these points to her kindergarten students. After reading well into the book, I wondered about the author since the writing seemed so.... simple, and was surprised to read that she had been honored by the MacArthur Foundation for her storytelling in the classroom. I tried to read her interwoven story with a more open mind and found it to help a little in understanding the point of the story. The changes in the classroom as a result of 'YCSYCP' were interesting since the children overall became more inventive and more welcoming, as the author hoped they would. The author was able to define changes she had made in her classroom- like eliminating time-outs- as part and parcel of 'YCSYCP'. I think the simple language worked for these children and could be a good starting place for even older children. As the children mature in their understanding of what happens when the habit of exclusion is broken, they will be able to step back and examine exclusion and rejection in more philosophical terms. I think this book and others you can find like it are worthwhile as people search for ways to make schools more humane and functional for all students, not just the favored.
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