In Search of Utopia

In Search of Utopia is a book by David Bartlett, head of the Pear Tree Project. This is my review of the book.

In Search of Utopia is written for any adult looking to improve outcomes for their children or children they care for. It helps them to understand and manage the needs and behavioural challenges of children, including children with deep psychological trauma. The techniques David has developed are based on extensive psychological and educational research. The book merges this research with his decades of in-depth practical experience educating and caring for children excluded from schools or judged to need specialist care.

The book is free to download. It covers four main areas.

1. Learning settings in which students are taught. Extensive research identifies the importance of the environment on a child’s ability to learn and mental wellbeing. The book identifies a wide range of environments, such as the colours in a classroom and outdoor settings, creating the opportunity for schools, care homes and parents to tailor the environment to the particular needs of their students.

2. The importance of teaching values in the early stages of a child’s life. It identifies how understanding and nurturing values can help children and young people to grow up avoiding many of today’s challenges for youth as they transition to adulthood.

3. The pressures on today’s youth, such as low-level anti-social behaviour, binge drinking, obesity, short attention spans and unhealthy cultures. It helps schools to understand the impact of many current issues and shares innovative techniques for managing behavioural challenges.

4. A range of activities with therapeutic benefits. It examines each activity, identifying the circumstances in which the activities are beneficial. It explains practical ways to implement the activities for the greatest impact.

The book concludes by reviewing how schools, care homes and parents can achieve happiness and harmony. This combination may be the single most significant objective for adults responsible for children’s wellbeing. It helps them understand how their students’ mental wellbeing connects with their academic performance at school and the mental wellbeing they can expect to contribute to their communities throughout the rest of their lives.

Chapters

Foreword

Part 1 — How to Create a Therapeutic Environment

• Introduction
• How colours affect us?
• How architecture, shapes and spaces affect our feelings
• Access to nature
• Using animals to enhance our environment and assist us in a therapeutic process
• Join up and follow up training
• Understanding life and death
• Healthy eating healthy lifestyles
• Activities that have therapeutic benefit
• Nature-Friendly Farming
• Music in a therapeutic context

Part 2 — How to Create a Values-based Environment

• Introduction
• Promoting the language of values as part of our everyday vocabulary
• The Value of Experiences
• Achieving happiness and harmony
• Designing a Curriculum — Perspectives and Spectrums
• Personal Holistic Competence
• Selecting people to be part of a therapeutic community
• Justice