Appraisal by Dr Ian Sanders, Senior Lecturer in Geology, Trinity College, Dublin
This book is an imaginative invitation to primary school teachers to develop in their children an understanding of cosmology, geology and evolution, of their place in the grand scheme of things, and of the frailty of human civilization - all through art and drama. The authors share a common purpose in their desire to share their awareness of the remarkable niche in time and space that we inhabit, and their equal awareness that our 'normal' lifestyle threatens the continued existence of that niche.
Star Matter is what we are made of - literally. Human civilization has existed for just a few thousand years, culminating in the industrialized society we know today. Yet these few thousand years - the whole of recorded history - amount to an ephemeral blip in the context of the time span of Earth's existence and of the slow gradual evolution of life during most of that long period. The true beginning of history - at least of our planet - goes back several thousand million years! It goes back to the formation of the Solar System out of the dusty residues from many long-since vanished stars. These stars, in their explosive death-throws, shed their matter into space where it drifted and mixed for a while before gravity reassembled it into a new generation of stars. One of these stars, along with its entourage of planets, was the Sun.
We know this because the technology developed by our industrialized society has allowed us to observe our surroundings in incredible detail - on enormous scales using telescopes and on the tiniest scale using microscopes. The wealth of this observation is truly amazing; it has fired our curiosity, and has driven us in the process of trying to rationalize all that has been seen into a self-consistent story. This process is Science.
Yet the technology that has led to this understanding of our origins, and let us see ourselves in the context of the timescale of the Earth's existence, has come at a cost. The industrially-based system that has allowed scientific observation and enquiry to thrive, is posed to undermine our continued existence. For example, despite knowing that the burning of fossil fuels will lead to ecological disaster, man seems incapable of ceasing the quest to find and extract the last drop of oil!
If there is to be a tolerably happy future for our children and grandchildren, then their generation must be equipped with the knowledge and understanding that will lead to sound policy and sustainable living. To that end, Star Matter is an altruistic endeavour to develop a new dimension in the education of young children, through the media of art, music, dance and drama. These children urgently need a knowledge of their astronomical and geological inheritance, if they are to fulfil their future role as custodians of the planet.
The aims of Star Matter are not immediately apparent from a reading of the first chapter, and its structure seems a little arbitrary and haphazard. Yet the book is ahead of its time in terms of the ideas it is promoting, it is factually correct, and it offers some wonderful suggestions on how to engage children in discovering their ultimate origins. Star Matter should be made widely available to teachers who share a desire to keep our life support system going for a while longer.
© Ian Sanders 2006
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Appraisal by Gillian Somerville-Large
StarMatter begins by questioning the division that has arisen between arts and science. In the Renaissance a philosopher artist like Leonardo da Vinci had no difficulty in combining the two concepts. But over the years scientific research has drifted away from the arts, and the popular science which makes an attempt to bridge the ever increasing gap, has proved to be inadequate.
The authors of this beautifully presented book explore how this disharmony can be remedied through specialist eductation that approaches scientific knowledge through collective creativity. This concept described as 'outreach' combines dance, and song, drama and art in the task of addressing the receptive minds of children and young people to awareness of our relationship with the natural world. The authors instruct on the promotion of science and the perception of spiritual aspects of our universe through group performance, workshop activities, art, and other means of encouraging
creativity and aquiring holistic experience. The message of StarMatter is clearly and simply expressed and the result has to be exhilerating for teachers and pupils alike.
© Gillian Somerville-Large 2005
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Appraisal by Richard Rolfe, Headmaster, Le Rocquier School, Jersey
A very difficult book to read at first but when I got involved I
realised that it was a unique book that offered challenges, new ideas,
creativity and depth. It wove science, awe and wonder together so as
to produce a very useful resource.
© Richard Rolfe 2005
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Appraisal by Andrea Hanks, teacher and a founding member of Thornham Field Center, UK
It was when trying to explain the latest earthquakes to my class of 7 and 8 year olds that StarMatter began to have relevance and importance to me. Suddenly we were in the world of tectonic plates that struggled to contain the pressures within until they moved and changed. It was like opening floodgates of interest and there was a frantic scrabbling for knowledge and understanding. These children had so recently seen pictures of tsunamis, hurricanes, droughts and other evidence of their world changing and they wanted to know the how and why.
I couldn’t answer all their questions, no teacher ever can, but having read StarMatter, I felt confident to talk about this world, the universe and other issues of deep time.
StarMatter is the kind of book that gives you the confidence to explore with children. A real and honest case study shows how children can be inspired to think out of the box, integrating art, literature and drama into their scientific investigations. A child who has been asked to reproduce the colours of a piece of rock, or think of rock jokes, is more likely to remember that experience than they will being told that they are holding a piece of gneiss and it is very old.
I would recommend this book to all teachers and those involved in science inset. It is worth reading for both the knowledge it imparts as well as the ideas on how to encourage children to understand the world they live in and not just believe it is an inexhaustible resource they live on.
© Andrea Hanks 2005
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Appraisal by Eva Cagianese, Haldane High School, Cold Spring, New York
StarMatter arrived in the mail, an unexpected and delightful surprise. The cover of the book was beautiful and the explanation of the graphics by artist Gavin Frankel gently introduced me to the concepts of Deep Time. I continued to read about the beginning of the earth; the class poem appeared and I rejoiced. As a poet and a teacher, and a strong advocate of creativity in the schools, I recognized true involvement, focus and concentration. The simplicity and power of the poem complemented Gavin's shadow puppets. I reached the page from Herbert Read's book 'Education through Art' and read once again the familiar concepts. I had used the same book many years before as the center of a Masters Thesis in Education. Excited, I followed the artist teachers through their Deep Time projects .
My Masters Thesis was a special program organized by The University of San Francisco, a project/thesis; create a project and write a thesis about the project. My project was a nontraditional handbook for teaching French using songs, stories, pictures, poems and theater games entitled "Dans le Jardin, Au Bord de la Mer, Le Soleil Brille" {In the Garden, By the Ocean, Shines the Sun}. This book is not about science but uses the same creative methods as StarMatter, developing the right and left side of the brain. I finished the book in1981 and have been using these methods with my students for over thirty years. The key is involvement, creating the class with the teacher. The class becomes a community where each individual is respected for their uniqueness and expected to participate. The concept of community does not undermine the artist teacher's position of knowledgeable guide and organizer. The students share the responsibility of creating the class by participating; these methods teach both responsibility and respect through the experience of education.
Do these creative methods educate children? Do the students acquire knowledge, take ownership of the information, and develop the ability and interest to communicate these ideas to others? From my own experiences in a variety of schools, both traditional and nontraditional, these creative methods bring positive energy to education. The students respond positively and are interested and engaged. School becomes exciting and time passes quickly. I brought StarMatter to my classroom and discussed the concepts through a community forum with the students. Many of the students had recently participated in a school theatre production; I began the discussion by asking them about their involvement and the power of drama. Their faces and words openly expressed their enthusiasm. I then suggested creating a class centered around theater, referring to the Gordon MacLellan production in StarMatter. The class embraced the idea.
Creative education is exciting. The concept of Deep Time including the idea that we are StarMatter is an inspiration for a multitude of creative projects.I strongly endorse StarMatter and encourage the circulation of this publication to educators, scientists, parents, and children.
© Eva Cagianese 2007
