Location
Age
Area of FocusAbout Vivian's Work
Vivian Gussin Paley writes about children’s lives in the classroom and lectures to teachers and students all over the world.
She was a kindergarten and nursery school teacher for thirty-seven years, mainly at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Paley has developed the technique of “storytelling” which involves children telling stories and acting them out with their classmates. Her technique is being adapted nationally, and has influenced reform in early-childhood education. Her books examine the function of fantasy in a child’s world and reappraise the meaning of education.
Biography
Paley is the author of many books, including White Teacher (1979), Wally’s Stories (1981), Boys and Girls: Superheroes in the Doll Corner (1984), Mollie is Three: Growing Up in School (1986), Bad Guys Don’t Have Birthdays: Fantasy Play at Four (1988), The Boy Who Would be a Helicopter (1990), You Can’t Say You Can’t Play (1992), Kwanzaa and Me: A Teacher’s Story (1995), The Girl with the Brown Crayon: A Literary Tale (1997), The Kindness of Children (1999), In Mrs. Tully’s Room (2001), and A Child’s Work (2004}.
Paley received a B.Phil. (1947) from the University of Chicago, a B.A. (1950) from Tulane University, and an M.A. (1962) from Hofstra University.
Last updated January 1, 2005
Published on August 1, 1989
