The Boy Who Would Be A Helicopter by Vivian Gussin Paley

Or "Sorry I'm Late In Posting This Review, But My Helicopter Blades Were Broken And I Had To Tend To Them..."

Vivian Paley is a recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant. She's a kindergarten teacher. A kindergarten teacher who won the MacArthur Genius Grant. I mean, that's some really cool shit. I also should note that this book is of particular interest to me because I am certain that someday - not soon, but someday - I will be will probably end up being a preschool or kindergarten teacher. It just seems sort of inevitable. So I love things like this.

Paley tells the story of one of her students, Jason, to illustrate the importance of fantasy and storytelling in young children's development - particularly as they are learning to socialize with one another. Jason is slow to adjust. He does not associate with other children, interrupts their play, and only pays attention to his toy helicopter. Through Paley's structured storytime in class, Jason slowly comes out of his shell and makes friends with the other children. It is lovely.

Also, the book is largely written from transcripts of the classroom, which means dialogue from four year olds. It is precious and adorable. And informative, of course, but who are we kidding? Tiny children are adorable.

It's definitely a book worth reading if you are interested in the importance of fantasy and story in our development, or if you are interested in education. I wish that the book gave a little more insight into the day-to-day structure of Paley's classroom, just because she sounds like an amazing educator and I would love to steal her strategies. But that isn't the point of this book, so it doesn't quite seem fair for me to criticize that particular aspect. Nonetheless, it's more an extended essay or musing on a particular topic without a lot of help in how to adopt these practices for yourself. Perhaps I shall investigate some more of her writings... She's a very cool woman.

To get a feel for this book without all the hassle of, you know, reading, check out this episode of This American Life. Vivian Paley reads excerpts from The Boy Who Would Be A Helicopter in a streamlined, essentialization of the story. The whole episode is really good, actually, so if you have an hour you should definitely check it out.