The Soul of Education: Helping Students Find Connection, Compassion, and Character at School

Based on the deeply moving stories and profound questions of students themselves, each chapter responds to the yearnings young people express: Deep Connection, Meaning and Purpose, Silence, Joy, Creativity, Transcendence, and Initiation--each evokes a gateway to inviting soul into the classroom.

Without healthy forums led by responsible adults, young people seek these gateways on their own, sometimes in destructive ways like drugs, sex, suicide, hazing, and even murder. Helping students find constructive ways to express their longings increases their motivation to learn; stay in school; strengthen ties to family and friends; and approach adult life with vitality, character, and vision.

This practical and inspirational sourcebook will support school communities that are committed to preventing violence and alienation and producing responsible, caring citizens.

The Soul of Education offers an inspiring, hopeful, and much-needed antidote to the malaise that afflicts too many children . . . a practical, inclusive, and sensitive guide for helping young people connect with their spiritual yearnings. -- Dan Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence

Kessler celebrates the diversity of beliefs in our free country. . . . But she wisely understands the spiritual emptiness of our times and knows that we ignore the souls of our children at their peril, and ours. Children need encouragement and guidance in struggling with the deeper meaning and purpose of life in a society that glorifies the material over the spiritual. -- Marian Wright Edelman, president, The Children's Defense Fund

Wonderfully mature, insightful, and candid about the challenges we all face, smart about how she proceeds toward addressing them, Kessler does a superb job of going to the root of what's most missing in our public education system, reframing and legitimizing it effectively. -- State Senator John Vasconcellos, California