Building Connections

The Author: Eileen M. Cunningham, O.P., is Professor of Education at St. Thomas Aquinas College. She received her Ph.D. in curriculum and teaching from Fordham University in New York City. She has traveled extensively to Peru, Pakistan, Korea, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, Japan, France, Ireland, and India. In each country she has lived in villages and visited schools in order to learn about the people through firsthand experiences. She has had several articles published chronicling her reflections on these experiences.

«'Building Connections: Spiritual Dimensions of Teaching' is well written and touches upon the connection of teaching to one's personal journey. It wonderfully reviews the importance of reflection and describes how reflection on culture and self is central to excellence in teaching. Eileen M. Cunningham shares her own story and powerfully leads the reader to understand this central aspect of teaching. She easily shows reflection is key to teaching and, even more profoundly, to fully understanding the spirituality that is part of every teacher's day. This book is a must read for those who prepare teachers and for those who want to develop fully into excellent teachers.» (Ronald R. Cromwell, Dean, School of Education and Allied Studies, Bridgewater State College, Massachusetts)
«The author, through her personal, professional, and faith experiences, clearly envisions and activates teaching to that of a ministry. The notion of teaching being a spiritual dimension goes beyond simple reflection in practice and is reminiscent of the observed behavior of expert teachers looking at the affective impact and «rightness» of their instruction. A must read for those charged with the preservice preparation of teachers for our elementary, middle, and secondary schools; for those responsible for and participating in continuing professional development, this book offers a multiplicity of thought-provoking gems that could well serve as foci of reflective exercises and activities in enriching the capacity of all teachers to ensure all students learn to their potential.» (Charles C. Mackey, Jr., Executive Coordinator, New York State Education Department)