Invitational Teaching, Learning and Living by William Watson Purkey and Paula Helen Stanley. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association. 1991. (paperback)

As Purkey and Stanley embrace the encircling issues of reform in the school, they begin Invitational Teaching, Learning and Living with a reminder that the mind is but one part of the whole person . They remind us that the heart cannot be forgotten in the process of change, nor can the classroom be overlooked as the essential environment that supports positive learning experiences.

As is typical in most of Purkey's work, a clear and concise overview of "invitational thinking" is presented. The four basic elements of invitational teaching, which are the same elements of the invitational approach, are described carefully and with examples appropriate to the classroom teacher. A new addition to the invitational literature is the "IDEA" inclusion. Throughout the book, there are specific examples, practices, reminders and suggestions that are called: IDEA. The acronym stands for I=inviting, D=Descriptors of, E=Exciting and A=Activities. Teachers will find the IDEA approach a very useful one as the suggestions are both specific and practical.

Chapter Three focuses upon the four levels of professional functioning. Readers who have delved into invitational literature will find that the description of the four levels sound familiar. In fact, there is substantially little difference in the treatment of the four levels in this text from other works produced by Purkey and his associates. (Purkey & Novak, 1984; Purkey & Schmidt, 1987) If readers simply need a review of the levels of functions and examples for teacher-student relationships, this chapter will provide that, but little else. The author might have considered a more extensive description of the functions with application in the classroom as the primary focus of this chapter. Differentiating between how the levels would affect various roles in education would have been an interesting addition.

The remainder of the book highlights the Four Corner Press, the Powerful 5 Ps and the Rule of the Five Cs. Though the Four Corner Press is known for its basketball connection, Purkey and Stanley relate personal and professional invitations with the same gusto shown by a well drilled team. It is the contention of the authors that the teacher often overlooks the tremendous effect of the untapped potential inside each individual. Focusing on ways to capitalize on this strength, identifying important feelings, strengthening friendships and staying alive professionally are a few of the issues dealt with masterfully in the last half of the book. The "5 Ps" again review basic invitational concepts of people, places, policies, programs and processes. There is less space provided for these topics yet the treatment of the "5 Ps" is adequate. The "5 Cs", which deal with concern, confer, consult, confront and combat provide important cues for the classroom teacher to assess at different points of decision making and interaction with students. The hints in this last section are truly helpful in times of stress. It is a section to be read several times to remind us of such simple things as: "Try not to make decision when you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired". It is simply too easy to overreact or use poor judgment in those cases. The authors point out that the first letter of each word spell HALT. In this section, the suggestions related to HALT are practical reminders to stop and think before acting.

Purkey and Stanley attempt to reach an important audience with this book. Every classroom teacher would love to summon all the wisdom developed in this book and be successful in the classroom. This work provides both the impetus and research to support an approach to school reform and restructure that includes attention to the whole person, including understanding of the multiple invitations that influence student learning and development. This is an uplifting book, one which I would recommend be included in professional libraries.

References

Purkey, W. & Novak (1984).
Purkey, W. & Schmidt,J. (1987).

Reviewed by Elizabeth S. Foster, Assistant Professor of Education; East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.

©1993 Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 1993, Vol. 2, No. 2