Welcoming Narratives in Education: A Tribute to the Life Work of Jonathan Silin. Occasional Paper Series 45

This issue of the Bank Street "Occasional Paper Series" is a labor of love. It testifies love for Jonathan Silin, who for 17 years served as Editor-in-Chief. This issue has been designed to exemplify two commitments that have shaped the decades of Jonathan's career and that will resonate with readers of the "Occasional Paper Series": (1) Jonathan's passionate belief in the power of narrative; and (2) Jonathan's devotion to nurturing intergenerational relationships for creating conditions that can welcome newcomers into the extant world. To celebrate the spirit of Jonathan's lifetime of work, this issue has invited scholars to tell stories of education as hospitality, as welcoming the newcomer and the stranger, with all the complexities this involves. To create the issue itself as an act of welcoming, a group of curriculum theorists who are newer to the field --scholars whose voices are emerging as powerful representatives of a new generation of scholars-- were invited to write essays. Each of these theorists were paired with a more senior scholar, who wrote a response to their paired partner. In inviting the senior scholars to respond, they were asked to put narrative to use in welcoming the work of their partner, again exemplifying hospitality, creativity, and care. Invited authors were told that their pieces did not have to directly reference Jonathan's work; some did and some did not. Regardless, what followed from the invitation to contribute was nothing less than a profound testament to the spirit of Jonathan's work, leading to inspired acts of support and generosity shown by our contributors to one another, all occurring during the extreme stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic.