Rather than try to figure out which parenting book I read first, I am just going to start with the one I most recently finished and add the backlog when I can.
At first I was a bit put off by Holt’s dismissive tone, but the ideas were so fascinating that I stuck with the book, and I’m glad I did. He breaks down some of the essential issues with institutional learning, notably that traditional school-learning doesn’t account for students who may learn better by other methods or timeframes than those being used by their teachers. Traditional schools simply aren’t equipped to deal with the specific learning styles of 30+ students. To this end, John Holt advocates homeschooling, and more specifically, the extreme child-led technique of Unschooling.
One big thing I took away from this book is the idea that as far as teaching Snuzzler is concerned, less is more. The more I can facilitate and guide the learning path he chooses for himself instead of dictating what it is I think he should learn, the better.
I am fascinated and terrified by this idea. I would love, LOVE to Unschool Snuzzler, but unless we move to Wyoming, I don’t see us having the financial wherewithal for me to be able to quit working and do that. Still– we live in San Francisco! Can you imagine THAT as your classroom? It would be wonderful.
I have some ideas brewing, but we’ll see. He’s only 14 months old, so I have some time. I am looking into some options.
But back to the book– I will definitely be reading John Holt’s other books. What he had to say about math alone in Learning All the Time was worth the read. Good stuff.
Pros: Child-centric approach, offers real examples of how children learn more thoroughly and joyfully on their own, made me want to revisit my own ideas about math, promotes respecting children and their individual needs and quests for autonomy.
Cons: Slightly pompous tone at the beginning, but that goes away fairly soon. I don’t know if it’s fair to say that this is a con of this book, but I would really like to read something by someone who is very anti-unschooling. I’m having a hard time finding some real criticism, even on the internet.
Learning All the Time on Amazon.com.
