Quaker Education, A Source Book (review)

Book Reviews117 Many who knew her, blacks and whites alike, shared this view. In writing this useful biography, author Katherine Smedley was much more influenced by the surviving letters and journal of her subject than by contemporary scholarship or theory. Consequently her work does not attempt to place the meaning of Martha Schofield's life within any historiographie context or along the political spectrum. Instead, she leaves these important interpretative, assimilative tasks to readers. Texas Southern UniversityHoward Beeth Quaker Education, A Source Book. By Leonard S. Kenworthy. Kennett Square, PA: Quaker Publications, 1987. 347 pp. $10.00. "No one has ever tried to assemble a volume on Quaker education in general," writes the author in the preface to Quaker Education, A Source Book. In this solid but not overly long volume Leonard Kenworthy gives an overview of Friends' work in education from its historical roots and development to its future challenges, from primary to adult education, from the impact of staff members to the responsibilities of governing bodies. In doing so he quotes generously from books, pamphlets, and articles. The result is a fascinating combination of fact and theory, mingling the author's own insights with the views and experiences of a variety of other writers who have been immediately involved in one facet or another of Quaker education. Leonard Kenworthy brings to the task his background as student, teacher, and board member in Friends schools as well as his perspective as a professional in the academic field of education . The chapter "The Wide Variety of Quaker Schools and Colleges in the U.S.A. Today" was written in conjunction with Adelbert Mason, of the Friends Council on Education; Harold Cope, who recently served as Director of the Friends Association for Higher Education, contributed the challenging section, "Financing Quaker Schools and Colleges." As a general introduction to Quaker education the book can be read straight through with profit and would be particularly useful to those considering serving in Friends schools as staff or board members. The frequent inclusion of the opinions of the author makes it more than an objective survey, however, and persons of long commitment to Friends schools will find here food for thought. It also lends itself to use as a reference book; in addition to chapters on such topics as history, governance, finance, curriculum, and "The Centrality of Religious Education and Meetings for Worship," it includes a list of names and addresses of Quaker schools, colleges, and adult centers, and it has a fairly extensive index. For anyone with some interest in and concern for Friends education, this book provides an opportunity for pleasurable browsing. Set into the text is a rich assortment of quotations: brief extracts from books and pamphlets on aspects of Friends education, lists of objectives and expectations from Friends schools' catalogs, and longer selections from various occasional papers. What a delight to open to Paul Lacey's essay, "AU Things Sweet and Useful: a Quaker Teaches Literature," or David Mallery's "The Terrific Teacher: A Celebration ," or Denis Asselin's introduction to a school meeting for worship, or Edward Marshall's reminiscences of elementary science classes with Joe Cadbury. Accounts of approaches to curriculum used in or desirable for Friends schools, and particularly the author's own suggestions for ways to teach social studies, are stimulating. A good selection of photographs enlivens the text. In" view of the interesting, useful, and at times even inspirational contents 118Quaker History of Quaker Education, A Source Book, it deserves more careful editing. There are some omissions and errors in the index, and enough misprints throughout to be distracting. I hope there will be a second edition with these corrected. The book is a unique contribution to the literature on Friends education and would reward a wide audience. Westtown SchoolAnne Wood Articles and Publications By Claire B. Shetter Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081 A handsome new book by John Michael Vlach, Plain Painters: Making Sense ofAmerican FolkArt, is the fifth in the New Directions in American Art Series, published by the Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1988. The author suggests a new interpretation of American folk art. Describing these artists as "charming...