Changing Curriculum through Stories

Through a series of evocative stories and gentle wisdom, Marc Levitt provides a valuable introduction to the ancient human arts of ethical living, sharing and social cooperation.  We learn about useful ways to deal with bullies, group conflict and simple disagreements while fostering better ways to collaborate and bring out the best in each other.  Kudos to Levitt for helping teachers and children learn to rediscover the commons and commoning in modern life! -- David Bollier, author of Think Like a Commoner and blogger at Bollier.org
Marc Levitt’s new book, Changing Curriculum through Stories: Character Education for Ages 10-12, provides upper-grade elementary teachers with an interdisciplinary blueprint to help them teach their students ethical behaviors and decision-making.  Major themes addressed include the ramifications of:  Gossiping, Teasing, Bullying, Cooperating, Forgiving, and Friendship. Utilizing short narratives, folk tales, fables, and Levitt’s own personal experiences, students are drawn to examine the problematic situations that the various characters find themselves encountering.  I believe this book to be a valuable resource for teachers to promote classroom cooperation and support students as they explore and find ‘their better angels.’ -- Mark Schwartz, retired principal of Salinas City Elementary District, California
Marc Levitt’s book Changing Curriculum through Stories: Character Education for Ages 10-12 is a combination of storytelling and teaching, a book that educators will be able to learn a great deal from. Levitt is able to convey the necessity of reintroducing character education into all of our schools, and gives educators concrete ways to do this.If you are an educator, looking for a way to entertain your students, while at the same time teaching them values that they can practice, then reading Changing Curriculum through Stories: Character Education for Ages 10-12 is the book for you. -- Robin Wildman, Grade 5 Teacher, Broad Rock Middle School, South Kingstown, Rhode Island
One of the core values on which Restorative Justice in Education is grounded is the notion that we are all valued and interconnected. Eschewing the notion of rugged individualism that plagues our world, Marc uses his creative energy to design a resource for elementary educators who are wanting to build a more interconnected and restorative world. I see this resource as a great way to begin conversations about how we do that. May we all work to help the next generation do this better. -- Katherine Evans, teacher, educator, and author of The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education