Summary:

This book goes beyond the concept of a school that children attend daily for 13 years. Instead, it incorporates the concepts that schools are baseed upon learning and not just the buildings they are located in. From the start it asks how a student gets to school. Do they take a bus or do they walk? Also, there are all kinds of schools: general education schools, vocational schools, colleges/universities, but also ski schools, sailing schools, art schools, hearing impaired schools, etc. It tells the reader that buildings don't make schools but that learning does. Learning can happen anywhere at anytime. It asks the questions: What does your school look like? How do people dress? It also talks about the differences in the sizes of schools based upon the population of the area where the school is located. One key element is that it tells the reader that schools are places to share idea, get help, and to learn. "Schools give us the tools to keep on learning and growing"(28).

Personal Response:

I found this book very interesting and important because it takes the reader outside of the basic concept of the Kindergarten-12th Grade schools and teaches that schools are anywhere and everywhere, because it is all about learning and not just where you learn. I liked that it talked about the different kinds of schools and made school look like a place where fun can be had in the process of learning.

Classroom Extensions;

This book is written for young readers and I think it would be a great first week of the school year book. It helps to open up conversations about learning possibilities.

As a class I would have the students discuss the different types of schools that they have been involved in. This is a great way to get to know each other.

I would have the students draw a picture on the way they get to school each day and also have them include their favorite subject and favorite lunch food. ( )