Nobody Left to Hate

Rating:
Summary: An interesting approach
Review: As a seventh grade mathematics teacher, studying to be a school counselor, I found this book to be helpful. It is an easy read and offers, not only a clinical explanation why Eric and Dylan did what they did, but suggests ways to transform the atmosphere in schools so there will less likely be another event like Columbine. Unfortunately, Aronson only suggests two possible solutions for transforming the school atmosphere; increase emotional intelligence and implementing the "jigsaw" method of teaching. I agree, teachers should implement "teachable moments" on empathy so that there is nobody left to hate, but I often find it difficult when teaching algebra to use the "jigsaw" method. As I start the new year, with this book in mind, I plan to do more cooperative group work, however, it would also be nice to have other "tricks" up my sleeve to create empathy and a less competitive classroom.

Rating:
Summary: Good thoughts!
Review: As a seventh grade mathematics teacher, studying to be a school counselor, I found this book to be helpful. It is an easy read and offers, not only a clinical explanation why Eric and Dylan did what they did, but suggests ways to transform the atmosphere in schools so there will less likely be another event like Columbine. Unfortunately, Aronson only suggests two possible solutions for transforming the school atmosphere; increase emotional intelligence and implementing the "jigsaw" method of teaching. I agree, teachers should implement "teachable moments" on empathy so that there is nobody left to hate, but I often find it difficult when teaching algebra to use the "jigsaw" method. As I start the new year, with this book in mind, I plan to do more cooperative group work, however, it would also be nice to have other "tricks" up my sleeve to create empathy and a less competitive classroom.

Rating:
Summary: Practical strategies for educators
Review: Elliot Aronson is a social psychologist who has written a number of books and has published his research in journals. Nobody Left to Hate Teaching Compassion After Columbine is an insightful book that looks at what the school climate is across our nation, particularly in middle and high school. Aronson points out that bullying, humiliation, and exclusion are found in schools throughout our country, not just in Littleton, Colorado. This is a town that is like so many across our nation. He shares with us a variety of approaches that can be implemented to promote respect and cooperation within our schools. This will not happen over night. Educators need to apply these strategies to create safe schools in which all students feel accepted and safe. The strategies that he has presented are easy to accomplish.

The first response to our schools Aronson refers to as "pump handle interventions." These are simple interactions that may stop a problem, but don't look at the cause of the problems. Examples of a pump handle interventions are adding metal detectors, security guards and censorship of the media. These may be helpful, but not right for all schools. They also don't get to the reasons why students have murdered their classmates and why they felt that they needed to do so.

"Root cause interventions" dig deeper and look at ways to help students feel less isolated and intimidated. Teachers need to help students develop emotional intelligence (recognize the emotions and perspectives of others and to develop empathy from this) and create classrooms with cooperative learning. Aronson presents his method of cooperative learning called the jigsaw. Students this way can learn to accept and appreciate all that each other have to offer and benefit from one another.

This easy to read book provides some valuable insight into the climate of our schools today. The book gave a perspective as to why these awful things are happening. Aronson provides the reader with some easy to use and implement strategies that would not cost schools a lot of money. Aronson's strategies help students become better people and learners.

Rating:
Summary: A real solution
Review: Finally, a book about Columbine by someone other than a Christian minister using the deaths as PR for his Faith. Aronson says, "Condemnation is a great indoor sport. It somehow makes us feel less helpless if we can unmask a culprit who we can then proceed to vilify." In that one sentence, he sums up (and dismisses) most of what has been written about Columbine so far. He tries to explain the tragedy in terms of normal high school problems, where students are "undergoing intense stress as a result of being excluded, mocked and taunted" and asks us to "create an atmosphere where there is nobody left to hate." Noble sentiments, but I don't think they explain Columbine, not after reading the sheriff's report. Both Harris and Klebold were unable to control their impulses. Their hatred took over their thoughts, until they were living inside a fantasy world. Still, his recommendations will help normal teenagers who suffer from these same problems. Any group that tries to come into high schools should be evaluated on their tolerance for non-members. Does this group vilify people who don't agree with their core beliefs? (Yes, I'm talking about religious groups, but that is only because organizations like Campus Crusade are trying to breach the wall of separation, to have the Ten Commandments displayed on the wall and bring Bible reading back to the classroom.) If Columbine can be explained in terms of normal reactions to taunting, that the jocks etc. simply went too far in their case, so be it. But I think there was a physical defect in the shooters' brains that took them into a different category.

Rating:
Summary: Authoritative
Review: Nobody left to hate is both comprehensive and brief a rare combination in social psycho;logy texts. I do think that the title is a bit overly optimistic. Yet the clarity and the simplicity of this work will give the reader both insight and hope for a very vexing problem.

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction to Aronson's work
Review: On one level, this book is a wonderful advertisement for the jigsaw classroom system and the benefits it can affect in schools. It also does a decent job of pointing out how many of the currently offered solutions to problems in school are really treating symptoms (violence, depression), and not the underlying causes (an overemphasis on inter-student competition). On another level, this book can serve as a very, *very* basic introduction to social psychological theory, almost like a case-study novella.

While this book is good for people looking for a quick and simple exploration of what those involved in the system can actually *do* to help make the school system a better place, the social psychology theory surrounding the ideas is explored to better fruition in his books 'The Social Animal' and 'Age of Propaganda'. Of course, those books are both more expensive and considerably longer than this slim, small volume. But if the ideas presented here spark your interest, I can highly suggest the other two books, and 'The Social Animal' in particular fleshes out the social psych theories that underlie 'Nobody Left To Hate'

Rating:
Summary: Saving our School Children
Review: Someone has said that every complicated problem has a simple solution-- and it is wrong. Barbers, editorial writers and other purveyors of simple solutions have said that school shootings, such as the one at Columbine High School in Colorado, can be prevented by posting the Ten Commandments, reinstituting school prayer, or kicking out "weird" students. Eliot Aronson, a prominent social psychologist, offers a more sophisticated analysis of school violence. He reminds us that in American high schools, bullying, sarcasm, threats, humiliation, physical abuse, and social isolation are commonplace. It is an atmosphere in which even favored students must tred lightly or risk exile. The shooters are nearly always those who have been pushed by their peers to the outside. Educators seldom contribute to this hostile environment directly, but they often do little to change it.

Aronson suggests some concrete steps that can be taken. In particular, he advocates that part of the school day be set aside for cooperative forms of learning. Aronson devised one form of cooperative learning, the jigsaw method, for the express purpose of reducing tensions in the process of teaching regular subjects. The jigsaw method requires students who are not members of the same clique to work together for their mutual benefit. It has been found to reduce tensions and improve the social status of "outsiders." This is NOT group therapy or social engineering; it is a way of teaching regular content that helps bring students together.

Whether cooperative teaching methods will substantially reduce the frequency of school violence is uncertain. But Aronson has at least put his finger on the central problem, the fact that our high schools are places that generate hate. I think every high school teacher and parent in the country should read this book. We need to get past the simplistic solutions. (For more on this book, see my review in the September, 2000 issue of Psychology Today.)

Rating:
Summary: Finding solutions after Columbine
Review: This book is recommended to anyone who deals with children and adolescents, is in the field of education, parents, and teachers.
In his book, Nobody Left to Hate: Teaching Compassion After Columbine, Elliot Aronson provides the public with many unanswered questions about the Columbine tragedy. He gives his readers the reasons why it is so important to address such issues as bullying, taunting, humiliation, and exclusion in the atmosphere of our classrooms across the country.
Elliot Aronson is a social psycholigist with a vast amount of experience in research and experimentation in his field. Through his experience on a social psychological level he provides his audience with specific examples that are easily understood to back up his theories. These examples are typical real life issues that face teachers and students in our schools. In addition he provides strategies for classroom teachers to promote emotional intelligence, respect, empathy, and cooperation instead of competition. His ultimate goal is to create a more compassionate and supportive environment in our schools to prevent another tragedy like Columbine.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting approach
Review: This book is recommended to anyone who deals with children and adolescents, is in the field of education, parents, and teachers.
In his book, Nobody Left to Hate: Teaching Compassion After Columbine, Elliot Aronson provides the public with many unanswered questions about the Columbine tragedy. He gives his readers the reasons why it is so important to address such issues as bullying, taunting, humiliation, and exclusion in the atmosphere of our classrooms across the country.
Elliot Aronson is a social psychologist with a vast amount of experience in research and experimentation in his field. Through his experience on a social psychological level he provides his audience with specific examples that are easily understood, to back up his theories. These examples are typical real life issues that face teachers and students in our schools today. In addition, he provides strategies for classroom teachers to promote emotional intelligence, respect, empathy, and cooperation instead of competition. His ultimate goal is to create a more compassionate and supportive environment in our schools to prevent another tragedy like Columbine.