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“A classroom or a school isn’t merely a neutral space in which to perform the act of educating,” writes Theodore Richards. In unprecedented times, education has become crucial for sustainability, and Richards’ book, Reimagining the Classroom: Creating New Learning Spaces and Connecting with the World (Jossey-Bass, 2022) offers a necessary critique of flaws throughout the current education system of the United States. Richards does this while providing thoughtful advice on how educators can reengage with their practice and more thoughtfully connect with students.

An educator, writer, and philosopher, Richards has dedicated his career to rethinking how classrooms and schools operate. He is the founder of Wisdom Projects, a national organization that strives to reimagine education and the functioning of communities. He has taught in numerous settings, from rural Zimbabwe to the South Side of Chicago.

After the toll of remote learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Richards jumped into writing to identify various problems in traditional schooling, underscoring that these issues did not stem from the pandemic but were amplified, and now they need to be addressed. Richards shares that schools have wound up lonely in the ecosystem of life and that nontraditional classroom experiences are the key to saving the future of education.

He divides Reimagining the Classroom into three parts: Reimagining Education, Reimagining the Classroom, and Reimagining the World. Each chapter focuses on a different topic within education (i.e., math, history, art) with subcategories of Community, Intellect, Soul, Hands, Oikos, Creativity, and Integration. Through his knowledge of history and wellness traditions from various cultures, Richards promotes practical approaches to altering pedagogy to create renovated learning spaces and outcomes.

Reimagining the Classroom is a must-read for educators who are looking for hope and striving to create an understanding of the climate of the world that we live in. This book is designed to inspire educators and parents to question current practices and strive to rethink the cultivation of education in various aspects. The pages offer hope and encouragement for children and the unknown future. As stated by Richards, “To transition from the dreams of the classroom into the world, we must teach our children—show our children—how to give and receive love.”