Starting Strong

A Different Look at Children, School, and Standards

In an elegant affirmation of human capacity and creativity, Patricia Carini counters high-stakes testing, the pathologizing of children, and the unrelenting critique of the public schools with a persuasive account of how children, all children, actively make sense of the world and their experience through the making of works such as drawings, constructions, and writings. This engaging and vivid account of the day-to-day possibilities of learning and teaching, and ultimately the remaking of the schools, is indispensable reading for anyone called to teach or committed to a liberating education for all children.

“This is a beautifully written book. I am inspired with each page.”
—Vito Perrone, Harvard University

"In this precious book by one of our most powerful thinkers, Pat Carini takes us deep, deep into the lives of children, into classrooms and schools, into the human heart of education at its best.”
—William Ayers, University of Illinois at Chicago

“A thoughtful book that challenges us to embrace an expansive vision of education. Throughout this powerful collection of essays, Pat Carini reminds us to place the value of each individual at the center of all we do in schools."
—Judy Buchanan, National Writing Project

“In this book, Carini draws on children’s and teachers’ stories, poetry, and philosophy as she attends to making visible for the reader the humanness of education."
—Ofelia García, Dean, School of Education, Long Island University