1st Edition
Reimagining Wholeness in Teaching and Learning A Five-Part Framework for Embodied, Ecological, and Equitable Education
Part 1: The Roots – Reclaiming Wholeness 1. Roots ~ Origins of Wholeness in Education 2. Splintering Roots ~ Whole Child Historical Journey 3. Re – Rooting ~ A New Story Towards Wholeness Part 2: The Tree – Wholeness as Being and Becoming 4. Trunk ~ Storying the Body 5. Branches ~ Wiring the Mind 6. Fungi ~ Threading the Matter 7. Fruits and Flowers ~ Cycling through Time 8. Crown ~ Aligning the Spirit Part 3: The Forest – Reimagining Education as a Living System 9. The Teacher Tree ~ The Emergent Whole Teacher 10. The Tiny Forest ~ Whole Teacher ~ Whole Child ~ Whole Classroom 11. Growing an Old-Growth Forest – Whole Families ~ Whole Communities 12. Love in Action – Collective Call Towards a Future Rooted in Wholeness
Biography
Dr. Virginia Dearani is Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at Thomas College with a Doctorate in Literacy/Curriculum Design from the University of Maine. Before entering higher education, she founded Roots & Fruits, a progressive school integrating ecological and spiritual dimensions with ancestral knowledge in child development. Her "Radical Love" teaching methodology, practiced for over 15 years, inspired her dissertation on reimagining wholeness in education beyond humanist perspectives. For 25+ years, Dr. Dearani has centered her work on Whole Teacher/Whole Child approaches, Cross-Cultural Pedagogy, and Peace Education for diverse age groups. She has developed numerous curricula including Intuitive Teaching, Creative Arts for Social Change, and Embodied Liberation in the Classroom. Through her work, she emphasizes creating communities of belonging by partnering with children and youth—a critical need in today's world.
