“In this timely and insightful work, Nuñez and Goulah present an intriguing collection of essays by writers from varied educational disciplines to specifically engage with Ikeda’s perspectives on the interrelated topics of hope and joy to, ‘inform and inspire educators as they undertake the urgent task of infusing their research and practice with the essential attributes of hope and joy in teaching and learning.’”
—Paul Sherman, Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy
“A timely collection of essays by contributors who were inspired by school founder and education philosopher, Daisaku Ikeda.”
—All About Mentoring: A Publication of SUNY Empire State University
“To have this outstandingly beautiful collection of authors help us to build bridges between Ikeda’s powerful ideas and humanizing spirit and the pressing educational and social issues of our time provides us a precious gift of learning, living, and legend worthy of our time and being.”
—From the Foreword by Cynthia B. Dillard, University of Georgia, Athens, GA and Cape Coast, Central Region, Ghana
“In this exhilarating volume, Isabel Nuñez, Jason Goulah, and a group of courageous and invigorating thinkers-scholars-peacemakers-activists bring a beacon of light with wisdom, courage, hope, joy, and love to heal the soul of humanity toward desirable collective futurities in a world of increasing complexity, uncertainty, and vulnerability.”
—Ming Fang He, Georgia Southern University
“This collection of essays is wonderful and timely. Inspired by the philosophy of Daisaku Ikeda, they are just what we need in these times of turbulent transitions and great uncertainty: a deep sigh of release and a thoughtful focus on hope and joy as the path, the purpose, and the process of educating for a more just, equitable, relational, and peaceful state of being.”
—Denise Taliaferro Baszile, Miami University
“How do we go on hoping after witnessing trauma? Hope and Joy in Education: Engaging Daisaku Ikeda Across Curriculum and Context grapples with that question, one of special urgency in our post–George Floyd moment. Having witnessed the worst of humanity, Daisaku Ikeda reminds us that the urgency of the moment requires us to hope, since to hope is to live. If life is a story and we are the author of that story, then we must decide how to live and write that story. Only then can we think of hope as a decision, a revolutionary act of love, where courage, conviction, and joy are found intermingling in a space of métissage.”
—Awad Ibrahim, professor of education, University of Ottawa
“For too long, the most strident voices in education spaces have asked the wrong questions, concerned more with what is measurable than what is meaningful. This timely and insightful book serves as a vital course correction, urging educators to center hope and joy in our work—not by turning away from the despair of the moment, but by fostering dialogue, seeking connection, and always remembering that the true aim of education for teachers and students alike is to become more fully human.”
—Gregory Michie, Chicago public school teacher and author of Holler If You Hear Me
