Matthew S. Kaplan

Streetworks, by Colin Ward and Tony Fyson (1973) explores various ways to engage children as community researchers and activists. The educational philosophy is one of seeing (and seizing upon) opportunities for learning that exist all around us, not just in the classroom. There is also a firm commitment to participatory democracy. At the local level, this translates into efforts to study and plan communities with those who live in the communities. I read this book during my first and most impressionable year as a graduate student in the environmental psychology program at C.U.N.Y. It was my first guidepost for figuring out how to fashion my career. I learned that it is possible to do scholarly work without having to spend all of one’s time in dialogue with other academics. I also learned how much fun it can be to work with people to transform their lives and their communities.