How Was School Today? explores the richly complex school experiences of Katie, a fifth-grader, in a very small school that educates children of varying ages and academic capabilities together. Katie's experiences provide an opportunity to wonder about the school experiences of any child. Structured as a journal of conversations between Katie and her father, this book is organized into four chronological parts, with an epilogue that explains what Katie and other school participants have done since her fifth grade year. An appendix discusses lessons learned from Katie's school year that are applicable to all children and their school experiences. How Was School Today? goes inside a world about which parents typically know very little, and about which teachers may wish to learn more.

In our hurry-up world, our instant-everything society, 'How Was School Today?' reminds us that children learn what they live, that each is an unruly spark of meaning-making energy negotiating a unique pathway through life, and that we adults must learnto build relationships characterized by awe and reverence and humility. We must take our time if we are to learn the central lessons of human life and growth. . . . Paul Higgins shows us how this might be done. -- From the Foreword by William Ayers, School reform activist and Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar, University of Illinois at Chicago
In our hurry-up world, our instant-everything society, 'How Was School Today?' reminds us that children learn what they live, that each is an unruly spark of meaning-making energy negotiating a unique pathway through life, and that we adults must learn to build relationships characterized by awe and reverence and humility. We must take our time if we are to learn the central lessons of human life and growth. . . . Paul Higgins shows us how this might be done. -- From the Foreword by William Ayers, School reform activist and Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar, University of Illinois at Chicago

Paul Higgins holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Northwestern University. He is Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina.