What Schools Teach Us about Religious Life | Second Edition

In this study-now in its second edition-of ten private (PreK-12) schools throughout the United States, veteran educator Daniel Heischman takes us into the lived worlds of these institutions, probing the unique missions and practices of each. What Heischman sees there tells not only a story of each particular school, but of the complex and shifting religious terrain of American life today. Finding commonalities among the most religiously diverse of schools, as well as noting how non-sectarian schools frequently intersect with the dynamics of a rapidly changing religious landscape, Heischman shows how schools serve as worthy barometers and mediators of contemporary religious life. Page after page provides fresh insight and rich narrative on how schools foster a life of faith, develop a sense of service, and enrich the spirit. Joseph McTighe, Executive Director, Council for American Private Education Heischman's seasoned perspective helps him articulate the challenges these schools face in their attempt to give a young person a place and voice in a small universe, but his perspective also allows him to see the larger social universe to which schools belong. Matthew W. Geiger, former faculty member, St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School (VA) In our work with divinity students who are preparing for careers in schools, Daniel Heischman's book provides ample evidence that not only can we engage in religious issues in schools, we must do so. Jere A. Wells, Director, Educational Leadership and Ministry Program (ELM), Berkeley Divinity School at Yale