Before and during the era when mass elementary schooling took off, children populated classrooms in many roles and not only as learners. The traditional teaching situation was actually full of children in roles as instructors, inspectors, and helpers, among others. In this contribution, the dichotomisation of expected classroom roles, being a…

Details the stories of three women from different backgrounds who met as part of the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking project, an education reform initiative based in Central and Eastern Europe. Describes each author's story of cross-cultural education and muses on her learning as part of an international community. Discusses themes of…