Most teachers will probably agree that listening is very important for
students’ academic success. Schultz’s approach, however, is not
specifically focused on improving students’ listening abilities, but
rather on helping teachers locate listening at the center of their
teaching. In Chapter 1, Locating Listening at the Center of Teaching,
Schultz explains her rationale for focusing on a pedagogy of listening.
“Rather than teaching prospective and experienced teachers how to
follow prescriptions for blueprints” says Schultz, “I suggest that
teachers learn how to attend to and to respond with deep understanding
to the students they teach” (p. 2). Schultz defines listening as “more
than just hearing….[it is] how a teacher attends to individuals, the
classroom as a group, the broader social context, and, cutting across
all of these, to silence and acts of silencing” (p. 8). Schultz
presents her conceptual framework in this first chapter, but readers
will have to stay the course to fully understand her view of listening.
Those who decide to read only the chapters that appear relevant.