Iwasan Kejawa is a career educator with a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale. In Reaching The Heights, he extolls the virtues of education – especially adult education – and offers his thoughts on learning, which he maintains should not end with a person’s success in life. “Educating the mind is prolific,” he writes, “and all adults including the educators should be involved in the learning process.”
This slim book — 101 pages broken down into 37 mostly one-, two- or three-page essays –- offers many general ideas on the topic of education, though concrete or specific proposals are rare. Many of the ideas are common sense, such as the need to apply what is learned. The author includes informative passages, such as his explanations of learning methodology and types of teaching (teacher-centered or the interactive method) and their advantages and disadvantages. But such passages are fairly rare.
A bigger problem with the book is the language employed. Kejawa’s ideas are often obscured by disjointed thoughts and confusing syntax. For example, “In general it is probably best not talk [sic] grow-ups [sic] into learning,” and “Education is a conglomorate [sic] believes [sic] of exploring individual minds. It is a security of physical, psychological and social well beings of individuals.” He also tends to use incorrect words, repeatedly writing “in other to” instead of “in order to,” for example. As a result of these flaws, it’s difficult grasping what Kejawa is trying to say. Another issue is repetitiveness. Whole paragraphs appear more than once, in different chapters.
Reaching The Heights seems to be well-researched –- Kejawa cites 59 sources in the bibliography – but the author’s ability to effectively communicate to readers the ideas of others, and his own, proves largely elusive.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
