Richard B Mckenzie

Home Away From Home: The Forgotten History of Orphanages Richard B Mckenzie

Brief Description: For most people, the word "orphanage" conjures up images of poor little Oliver Twist pleading for more gruel. Many are convinced that the history of orphanages is a social welfare record of total devastation to the lives of the children who grew up in them. Indeed, many of the scholars who contributed to Home Away From Home began their research with the conventional negative view of orphanages. But they arrived at far more balanced assessments of the historical record: while the orphanages studied were not perfect, they were often good solutions to dire conditions for children. The future of America's most vulnerable citizens is on the line, says Richard B. McKenzie, the editor of this volume. Today's government-run child welfare system is detrimental to tens of thousands of children. Foster care, intended as a temporary solution, has turned into permanent but inadequate care for many. While adoption is a solution for some children, others are difficult to place or legally unavailable for permanent placement. In re-examining the surprising success of orphanages in the past, Home Away From Home highlights the great value of providing a truly stable environment for youngsters, and it explains how orphanages might again be a powerfully beneficial social institution. Biographical Note: RICHARD B. MCKENZIE grew up at the Barium Springs Home for Children in Piedmont, North Carolina. His experience there led him to write The Home: A Memoir of Growing Up in an Orphanage (1996) and to edit Rethinking Orphanages for the 21st Century (1998). He has also produced Homecoming: The Forgotten World of America's Orphanages, which has aired on PBS stations across the country. He is the Walter B. Gerken Professor of Enterprise and Society in the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Irvine. Review Quotes: Professor Richard B. McKenzie is an unusual man; brilliant by nature and enlightened by experience. His willingness to seek the truth and social justice for the weakest members of society, children without functional parents, is as courageous as it is important. How a society cares for its weakest members tells how just and sensitive we are as a people. In this absorbing and historically important book, Dr. McKenzie has collected a history and analysis of how societies throughout time have dealt with their most vulnerable members. This is a must read for anyone involved with child welfare or early childhood education.&mdash The Honorable Gary C. Byrne, PhD, President, Vesta Umbrella, LLCEye-opening and insightful, this book does an effective job of destroying the myths of orphanages as Dickensian images of jail-like institutions. It shows them as effective, supportive, and caring with good living conditions to raise mentally and physically healthy children.&mdash Donald H. Whitney, Founder, President, and CEO, World Children's CenterHome Away from Home is an invaluable contribution to the discussion of the value and the motivations behind orphanages and residential schools for at-risk children.&mdash Heidi Goldsmith, Founder and Executive Director, CORE: Coalition for Residential EducationMarc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Table of Contents: Preface -- 1. Orphanages in History and the Modern Child Welfare Setting: An Overview / Duncan Lindsey, Paul H. Stuart -- 2. The Early History of Orphanages: From Constantinople to Venice / Timothy S. Miller -- 3. Christian Charity and the Politics of Orphan Care in the Dutch Republic / Anne E. C. McCants -- 4. Mooseheart: The Child City / David T. Beito -- 5. A Home of Another Kind: An Orphanage in the Midst of Chicago's Elite / Kenneth Cmiel, Anne Duggan -- 6. Fates of Orphans: Poor Children in Antebellum Charleston / John E. Murray -- 7. The Transformation of Catholic Orphanages: Cleveland, 1851-1996 / Marian J. Morton -- 8. Baltimore's Nineteenth-Century Orphanages / Nurith Zmora -- 9. The Orphan Trains as an Alternative to Orphanages / Marilyn Irvin Holt -- 10. Orphanages as a National Institution: History and Its Lessons / Timothy A. Hacsi -- Contributors -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index. Publisher Marketing: Orphanage is the O-word in many peoples minds, conjuring up images of poor little Oliver Twist pleading for more gruel. Many people are convinced that the history of orphanages is a social welfare record of total devastation to the lives of the children who grew up in them. Indeed, many of the scholars who contributed to The History of Orphanages Reconsidered began their research with the conventional negative view of orphanages. But they arrived at far more balanced assessments of the historical record: while the orphanages studied were not perfect, they were often good solutions to dire conditions for children. The future of America's most vulnerable citizens is on the line, says Richard B. McKenzie, the editor of this volume. Today's government-run child welfare system is detrimental to tens of thousands of children. Foster care, intended as a temporary solution, has turned into permanent but inadequate care. While adoption is a solution for some children, others are difficult to place or legally unavailable for permanent placement. In re-examining the surprising success of orphanages in the past, The History of Orphanages Reconsidered highlights the great value of providing a truly stable environment for youngsters, and it explains how orphanages might again be a powerfully beneficial social institution. Review Citations:

Choice 10/01/2010 (EAN 9781594032455, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  McKenzie, Richard B Richard B. McKenzie is the Walter B. Gerken Professor of Enterprise and Society in the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine.