Table Of ContentPraiseforSeenandNotHeard
“No one has ever listened more intently to the voices of children
than Jana Mohr Lone. Seen and Not Heard will convince anyone
who has ever doubted that children are capable of sophisticated
and profound thinking,and thatallofushave much to learn from
listeningtothem.”
CLAUDIAMILLS,ASSOCIATEPROFESSOREMERITA,
UNIVERSITYOFCOLORADOBOULDER
“A beautiful book about the ways that children think and speak of
important matters such as friendship, justice, happiness, child-
hood, and death. Their words illuminate a text that parents and
teachers will treasure all the more in this time of loss and griev-
ing. . . . A stirring and important book, which should be widely
read.”
JONATHANKOZOL,NATIONALBOOKAWARDWINNER,
AUTHOROFSAVAGEINEQUALITIES,AMAZINGGRACE,
ANDMANYOTHERBOOKSONPUBLICEDUCATION
“Seen and Not Heard is a wonderful book because philosopher
Jana Mohr Lone listens carefully to children as they discuss some
of life’s most important experiences—the meaning of friendship,
trust, and being oneself or an outsider—that reveal not only
themes of timeless importance but often wisdom from their
youthfulperspectives.”
CHARLESJOHNSON,NATIONALBOOKAWARDWINNER,
AUTHOROFMIDDLEPASSAGEANDTHEWAYOFTHEWRITER
“Not since Gareth Matthews has a philosopher provided so direct
andlucidanaccountofchildren’sphilosophicalthinkingontopics
so central to human experience—and of why their thinking
shouldmattertotherestofus.”
MAUGHNGREGORY,PROFESSOROFEDUCATIONALFOUNDATIONS,
MONTCLAIRSTATEUNIVERSITY
“You will want to listen to the children in your life once you read
Seen and Not Heard. Conversant in the latest philosophical,
psychological, and sociological research on childhood, Jana Mohr
Lone has written a book that is inviting, intimate, and readable.
She weaves an impressionistic account of children’s thoughts on
friendship, happiness, fairness, and death with considerations of
thesephilosophicaltopicsinliterature,history,andculture.”
MEGANLAVERTY,ASSOCIATEPROFESSOROFPHILOSOPHY
ANDEDUCATION,TEACHERSCOLLEGE,COLUMBIAUNIVERSITY
“Seen and Not Heard is a wonderful exploration of how conversa-
tions with children can be philosophical, thoughtful and thought-
provoking, and an opportunity for genuine dialogue. Jana Mohr
Lone convincingly demonstrates that young voices are worth at-
tending to, by drawing upon works of literature, philosophical
texts, and real conversations she has had with young thinkers.
Beautifully written and lucidly argued, this book will be enjoyed
byall.”
LAURAD’OLIMPIO,SENIORLECTURERINPHILOSOPHYOFEDUCATION,
UNIVERSITYOFBIRMINGHAM,ENGLAND
“Seen and Not Heard is profound, rich, and provocative. It dem-
onstrates that, as much as adults and often more so, children are
subtle, complex, and diverse philosophical thinkers. It opens a
window to a wide field of children’s ideas about being, imagina-
tion, friendship, justice, ethics, gender, happiness, death, and
much more. A better argument is hard to imagine for the impor-
tance of listening to children, for children’s own sakes as well as
fordoingbetterphilosophy.”
JOHNWALL,CHAIROFTHEDEPARTMENTOFPHILOSOPHYANDRELIGION,
RUTGERSUNIVERSITY
SEEN AND NOT HEARD
SEEN AND NOT HEARD
Why Children’s Voices Matter
Jana Mohr Lone
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
PublishedbyRowman&Littlefield
AnimprintofTheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc.
4501ForbesBoulevard,Suite200,Lanham,Maryland20706
www.rowman.com
6TinworthStreet,LondonSE115AL,UnitedKingdom
Copyright©2021byJanaMohrLone
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorby
anyelectronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretriev-
alsystems,withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewer
whomayquotepassagesinareview.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:MohrLone,Jana,author.
Title:Seenandnotheard:whychildren'svoicesmatter/JanaMohrLone.
Description:Lanham,Maryland:Rowman&Littlefield,[2021]|Includesbibliographicalrefer-
encesandindex.|Summary:"Discussingthemeaningofchildhood,friendship,justiceand
fairness,happiness,anddeath,JanaMohrLoneconsidershowlisteningtochildren'sideascan
expandourthinkingaboutsocietalissuesanddeepenourrespectforchildren'sperspectives"--
Providedbypublisher.
Identifiers:LCCN2020053432(print)|LCCN2020053433(ebook)|ISBN9781475843231
(cloth)|ISBN9781475843248(paperback)|ISBN9781475843255(epub)
Subjects:LCSH:Children--Attitudes.|Childdevelopment.|Childpsychology.
Classification:LCCHQ772.5.M652021(print)|LCCHQ772.5(ebook)|DDC305.231--dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2020053432
LCebookrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2020053433
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsof
AmericanNationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaper
forPrintedLibraryMaterials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
In memory of my mother, Irene Marie Budzeyko Mohr,
and her love of books and words
