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jendhansen's review against another edition
3.0
I love the teachings of John Holt, but this is a slow, and slightly boring read, so it is hard to rate. Great principles, but kind of tedious reading.
bovver's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I enjoyed his take on how children learn — how adults get in the way — and he’s convincing.
But also, he brings only anecdotes and observations to back up his claims, and doesn’t consider where his philosophy might not work (or has been tried and failed).
I guess it read a little bit like a caricature or straw man argument in places, and also in its way feels quite dated.
But generally his point: that we should bias towards trusting in kids to figure things out is probably fair.
But also, he brings only anecdotes and observations to back up his claims, and doesn’t consider where his philosophy might not work (or has been tried and failed).
I guess it read a little bit like a caricature or straw man argument in places, and also in its way feels quite dated.
But generally his point: that we should bias towards trusting in kids to figure things out is probably fair.
angelintherye's review against another edition
got about 50% of the way through. wanted more research. felt dated in the that the observations of children are no longer novel.
esperare's review against another edition
I’ll probably come back to this. I want to read it but I need to be in the right mood for a book like this.
cafeduke's review against another edition
Eye opening and fascinating. I'm glad I unschooled through 2nd grade and just let the monkeys play. It's hard to stand back and let them figure things out but it's rewarding when they succeed. This past weekend I was working in my workshop the whole day, I came out to find that my two kids, Captain Chaos (extreme hyper ADHD) and his sister (inattentive ADHD, doesn't feel like she can think too hard sometimes even though that's not at all true), built a swing all by themselves on the playground they've created with left over fencing and some rope. It's level with knots tied and held with no help from either neglectful parent and it even had a little chair added with padding (lots of packing tape plus a dozen or so cleaning cloths). They are sooo proud of it. Now the 9 year old wants to borrow the saw to cut away some fencing that's in the way of a great big swing on it and the 7 year old wants to chop down the limb it's hanging from...but that's for another lesson. It's a little late for my kids early years, but makes me think I didn't screw up by not forcing the public school at home form of home schooling on them.
jaraka's review against another edition
3.0
A thoughtful book, but incredibly slow... even listening to it at 2x speed I was bored. It read a lot like a researcher reading off their notes from an observation and not much more.
I do think he has an important point, but boy oh boy we could’ve gotten there much quicker.
I do think he has an important point, but boy oh boy we could’ve gotten there much quicker.
brentmayberry's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a challenging read for a self-described know-it-all. My wife and I plan on homeschooling our children, so it's going to be so much fun explaining the world to my bright-eyed little ones, right? Except Mr. Holt says that if I do, I run the risk of crippling my children's desire to learn.
The tough part is, I believe him.
I went through school pretty much as a robot...learning stuff, repeating stuff on tests, then forgetting stuff. And even though I love to learn, in school, I got so, so tired of jumping through the hoops.
I want my kids to really enjoy learning, to make knowledge their own, to treasure wisdom. Mr. Holt has convinced me that the best way to do this, as the major premise of his book, is to let children direct their own learning. An involved parent works best as sort of a facilitator...answering questions, providing demonstrations when necessary, figuring out where a child can best find the information she's looking for.
I plan on reading this book again just to figure out better what my role as a parent would be to help my children learn.
The tough part is, I believe him.
I went through school pretty much as a robot...learning stuff, repeating stuff on tests, then forgetting stuff. And even though I love to learn, in school, I got so, so tired of jumping through the hoops.
I want my kids to really enjoy learning, to make knowledge their own, to treasure wisdom. Mr. Holt has convinced me that the best way to do this, as the major premise of his book, is to let children direct their own learning. An involved parent works best as sort of a facilitator...answering questions, providing demonstrations when necessary, figuring out where a child can best find the information she's looking for.
I plan on reading this book again just to figure out better what my role as a parent would be to help my children learn.
charlotten's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
wrh121's review against another edition
5.0
John Holt is praised and revered in the homeschooling world, but his thoughts about how children learn can give any parent or teacher something to think about. What I love most about this book is that it is obvious he truly respects children and invites you to look at situations through his lens. While many of his idea are less controversial than they were when he wrote them down, I still think they are pretty radical when compared with how we educate our kids. This quote on the last page sums up what I’m trying to say
“Gears, twigs, leaves, little children love the world. That is why they are so good at learning about it. For it is love, not tricks and techniques of thought, that lies se the heart of all true learning. Can we bring purse to let children learn and grow through that love?”
“Gears, twigs, leaves, little children love the world. That is why they are so good at learning about it. For it is love, not tricks and techniques of thought, that lies se the heart of all true learning. Can we bring purse to let children learn and grow through that love?”