Book Review: The Discipline of Hope: Learning From a Lifetime of Teaching

Kohl, Herbert. The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching. The New York Press: New York, 2000

Summary

The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching is a part theory part autobiographical account of life long educator Herbert Kohl. In Discipline of Hope, Kohl recounts decades of experiences, pitfalls, and challenges he faced in failing school systems, racially charged classrooms, and politically unrepresented communities. He makes clear to assert that there’s no easy cure for the unhealthy American education system. He writes: "There is no one road to democracy, no single method for teaching reading, no pat solution to a discipline problem or a question of motivation or hope. There is no single, simple canon that represents the best of human effort, no absolutely clear list of things every child must learn to be a successful human being. I believe that children, guided and informed by self-respect, respect for others, confidence, and compassion, can find many roads to decent and rewarding adulthood, few of which we can reliably predict. In my teaching I'm as concerned with the values children take with them into the future as with the specific things they learn. I have never felt that science and technology will open the door to the solution of human problems without political and social struggle based on moral principles (p. 79).

Kohl offers no simple solutions for solving America's educational challenges, but he does assume enormous responsibility for the success of his students he has encountered throughout his career. The main concept that Kohl presents is every student can learn and every teacher must find creative ways to facilitate that learning. He suggests that success is about education “on the ground” about the daily, intimate, and complex interaction between teacher and student and the content and process of learning. He portrays himself as "hopelessly optimistic": "Never in my whole teaching career has it occurred to me that there are limits to what any student can do. The limitations I perceive are to do with how ingenious or sensitive I can be in devising the right situation or discovering the right materials to reach into my students. I am hopelessly optimistic when it comes to believing in people's capacity to grow and learn (p. 30)."

Within Discipline of Hope, Kohl provides helpful and useful thoughts he learned from his lifelong experiences in the classroom. He outlines his experiences and methods used in different circumstances such as: teaching well in a troubled system, teaching beyond school, teaching on the edge, and teaching as the discipline of hope. Kohl takes teaching very seriously and places enormous responsibility on our shoulders as educators: "One consequence of believing that every child can learn is that as a teacher you have to become a good improviser, adjusting, changing directions, and feeling your way - while maintaining order and projecting confidence when you may still be unsure of the direction you want to take with a particular group of students. The craft of teaching requires the habit of innovation. One of the most troubling aspects of many educational situations these days, especially those that claim to be innovative, is that craft is reduced to a set of abstract principles of learning or techniques for student management when it is a question of the personal development of teachers.

Analysis

The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching was very revitalizing to read as a teacher but more specifically as a first year teacher. As I enter my fourth term in my first year of teaching it was helpful for me to take a step back to recognize and accept that I share some of the same pitfalls, concerns, and attitudes that most first year teachers experience, and its OK to possess these feelings. Reading Discipline of Hope written by an educator who has been in the classroom longer than I have been alive provides a glimpse of light in this tunnel called education; he too had a first day of school, taught in a challenging school system, and was faced with political, racial, and social challenges.

Like Kohl I possess the quality to live and teach hope and faith. Without hope I would not be an educator, a candidate for a Masters Degree program, or live in Hawaii. A successful teacher must believe in their students’ future and strengths. It is not enough to just “care”. Education is the best gift a person can offer. I am honored to be a teacher. Teaching has completely shaped my view of the world. I now realize that success starts with knowledge and I have the opportunity to give the gift of success to every student, parent, and community that I come into contact with. In society teaching is not regarded as a trade or craft; meaning that anyone can come into a classroom and teach/control students. My favorite reflection made by Kohl is the following: “I have always thought of myself as a teacher the way other people think of themselves as gardeners, painters, composers, mathematicians, and poets. I am a craftsperson of learning, working to refine what I do with young people to the point where it is both free and structured, spontaneous and disciplined, innovative and classical, fun and very difficult (p. 10).” I kept reading this selection over and over again because this is how society including myself should regard teaching. We should be relentlessly improving, supporting, and funding our craft just as we would a CEO or painter. Furthermore, it saddens me that that the political, social, economical issues that Kohl faced in the classroom over 50 years ago still exist today. As Kohl reiterates throughout his book, change will only occur when all investors of school systems believe that every student can learn. More specifically teachers must instill hope in their students and find resourceful ways to facilitate learning.