Large Purposes in the Classroom: Doing Tai Chi Together

English Version

Without Vito Perrone’s support and advice, my professional life might have been very different. In 1977 when Vito accepted my Pacific Oaks master’s thesis “Children’s Thinking in the Classroom” as a North Dakota Study Group monograph, I was invited to attend the NDSG meetings. In 1986, at Vito’s invitation, I founded and edited Pathways: A Forum for Progressive Educators. Vito included my article “Closed Gates in New York City” (Jervis, 1991), describing citywide testing in Diane Mullins’ classroom, in his volume Expanding Assessment. Those connections shaped the direction of my work, but more importantly, exposed me to Vito’s values. Vito influenced the way I see teachers’ and children’s relationships with each other and the world.

The story I tell below is part of an ethnographic study on “Cultural Interchange” in which my colleagues and I explored the kinds of questions Vito asked: Whose values were accorded respect? Whose values went unrecognized or were unconsciously ignored? Which students and families were included and participated? Which students and families were excluded or denied full participation? Vito influenced my description of Diane Mullins’ classroom as I explored the way she connected practice and the world.

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