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By Different Paths to Common Outcomes. Clay M. M. (1998). York, ME: Stenhouse. Paper. ISBN: 1571100873.
What a joy it is to read Marie Clay's thoughts on young children, literacy, and early schooling. Her observations "sing" to this reader as she articulates a vision of what could be, rather than what is. Her concern is that schools need to be responsive to the individual child, rather than expecting the child to be responsive to the schools communal needs.
Noting how children learn different things in different ways and in different communities, Clay describes the wide range of individual differences in young children as they begin school, and she discusses the diverse ways each child interacts with people and with early symbolic representation. Teachers are urged to identify what individual children know and can do, and...