Ensouling Our Schools - (Teaching to Diversity) by Jennifer Katz (Paperback)

About the Book

In Ensouling Our Schools, author Jennifer Katz weaves together methods of creating schools that engender mental, spiritual, and emotional health while developing intellectual thought and critical analysis.

Book Synopsis

In an educational milieu in which standards and accountability hold sway, schools can become places of stress, marginalization, and isolation instead of learning communities that nurture a sense of meaning and purpose. In Ensouling Our Schools, author Jennifer Katz weaves together methods of creating schools that engender mental, spiritual, and emotional health while developing intellectual thought and critical analysis.

Kevin Lamoureux contributes his expertise regarding Indigenous approaches to mental and spiritual health that benefit all students and address the TRC Calls to Action.

Review Quotes

Ensouling [Our Schools] provides an enticing view of how our schools could be better designed to address the social, emotional and academic needs of our students. What really sets this text apart is the way it intertwines this issue and the broader issues of reconciliation. Although perhaps lacking some universal adoptability, the work contains enough significant and thought-provoking information to be well worth the read.--EdCan Network--Grant Frost "EdCan Network"

We wanted the resources to be evidence-based, Canadian and with a focus on supporting well-being for everyone in the classroom. We looked for resources that are identity-affirming and differentiated. We made a commitment to centre historically marginalized voices and perspectives and to keep in mind the needs of both educators and students. The resources needed to be practical, easy to implement, and provide a range of activities and learning opportunities for students and staff. [Ensouling Our Schools] met our criteria.

--Sue Ducau "ETFO Voice Magazine"

At this time in Canadian history, this is an important theoretical and practical book that deepens our understanding of the interconnectedness of SEL, UDL, Trauma-Informed Practice, Mental Health, & Inclusion under the umbrella of responding to the TRC. This is a tall order, but Katz and Lamoureux do it masterfully and leave the reader with incredible hope for education, youth, and the future of this Land and country.-- "Exceptionality Education International"

About the Author

Jennifer Katz, PhD, taught for 16 years in diverse classrooms from K to 12, including special education and inclusive classrooms in Winnipeg and Vancouver. She has also served as a resource teacher and counsellor. Her work as an advocate of inclusive education has spanned several countries, provinces, and territories, and multiple audiences, including students, parents, teachers, educational leaders, and curriculum and policy development ministries. Dr. Katz received the MCEC Outstanding Achievement Award for Leadership, 2016. She now serves as an Assistant Professor of Inclusive Education at the University of British Columbia.