Lessons from the Hawk

Building on the metaphor of a hawk circling a field, Kennedy develops the concept that there are four fundamental approaches that human beings have towards learning, only one of which is the traditional, analytic, professorial model. Written for practical teachers who are looking for better ways to engage all of their students in learning, Kennedy shows how teachers can determine their own dominant learning perspectives and recognize that many of their students approach education with far different viewpoints and expectations.

He follows with specific suggestions how to match each student's approach to learning with the subject matter at hand and to extend their repertoire of talents and perspectives through homework. For Kennedy, classrooms that truly honor each student's individuality must by definition be active, working models of democracy. True educational reform for him fundamentally requires schools that no longer feel compelled to demand standardization and regimentation, but schools that accept—and even encourage—genuine educational diversity and individuality.

Lessons from the Hawk is a wise yet very practical book for teachers and administrators who know that creating good schools involves more than scoring high on national tests, that it really means schools that care about students as individuals by understanding, honoring, and developing the learning perspectives that they bring into the classroom.