A Voice for the Child: The Inspirational Words of Janusz Korczak
Author: Janusz Korczak, Sandra Josephs, Sandra Joseph
List Price: $15.00
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ISBN: 0722538065
Publisher: Thorsons Pub (October, 1999)
Sales Rank: 255,258
Average Customer Rating: 4 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
The inspirational views of a great 20th century pedagogue
The editor of this beautiful book, Ms Sandra Joseph, has put together various of Janusz Korczak's texts, from a number of books, such as 'How to Love a Child' and 'The Child's Right to Respect'. Janusz Korczak (1878-1942) was a Polish-Jewish doctor, playwright and pedagogue, who was deeply involved with the education of orphans in Warsaw, Poland. He became famous for his radical views on the right of the child to be respected and treated in a humane way. As an 'advocate of the child' he claimed, long before the 'official' rights of the child were established by the UN, fundamental rights for children and youngsters. His life, and that of the orphans, ended when in 1942 the Nazis put them on transport to Treblinka. Since the 70s his ideas and views are studied around the world. For a number of reasons, this book is very welcome. In the first place it contributes to the reception of Korczak in the English-speaking world. In the past years only few works on Korczak were published in English; the Lifton biography 'The King of Children' being best known. In the second place, this book presents in a nutshell both Korczak's life and general ideas and a generous selection from his texts. Now we have at last a source that can be used when one wants to refer to Korczak in English. In the third place this little book is published in association with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the United Kingdom, to which the author donates part of her royalties; so Korczak's ideas are clearly linked to a very topical and pressing problem, that of the cruelty to and maltreatment of children. Ms Joseph ends her introduction by saying the following: 'Korczak deserves to be recognized and honoured today, not because he was a martyr, not because he was a great writer and doctor, not because he cared for the most neglected and poorest of children, not because he made a unique contribution to the world of education -but because he was a man of great humility, who lived and died solely because of his deep belief in and love for children. Korczak truly was 'The Champion of the Child'' (p. xxii-xxiii). I do hope that this little book will find its way, especially in the English speaking countries. Those already familiar with Korczak will find new inspiration; those new to him will find a source of wonder and challenge.Joop Berding author of a book and some articles about Janusz Korczak; member of the board of the Dutch Janusz Korczak Association; co-editor of the Janusz Korczak International Newsletter.
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