Tag Archives: Education

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto

American Literature July 15, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Essays by a prominent educator on the ways that the public school system is failing students. Review: Dumbing Us Down is a pretty famous book in homeschooling circles because it provides some great reasons for opting out of public schooling. My beliefs about public school are only a small part of why I’m choosing to homeschool, but I appreciated Gatto’s well-articulated arguments about the inherent problems with public school. I think he’s a credible voice because of his stature as an educator, a Teacher…

For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macauley

American Literature June 10, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A classic text on homeschooling using Charlotte Mason’s methods. Review: For The Children’s Sake was a very inspiring read for me, as I’m homeschooling my girls and very drawn to Charlotte Mason’s work. That should come as no surprise, since the Charlotte Mason method is all about learning from living books. Susan Schaeffer Macauley is the daughter of the famous Christian leader Francis Schaeffer, founder of the L’Abri institute in Switzerland, so I feel like I can really trust her point of view. I…

The Handy Answer Book for Kids by Gina Misiroglu

American Literature October 21, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Lots of answers to the kind of questions kids like to ask. Review: The Handy Answer Book for Kids is a great little reference book, filled with pictures and charts and other visual delights. The questions are a lot of fun, ranging from the profound–“Who is God?”–to the trivial–“How does a vacuum cleaner pick up dirt?” Parents will find lots of springboards for great discussions of important ideas and issues. Kids will love all the tidbits of information. There is a good discussion on…

Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax MD PhD

American Literature October 8, 2009 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: An examination of the science of sex differences. Review: Apart from some outdated and irresponsible advice about breastfeeding (says the LLL leader), I got a lot out of Why Gender Matters, which I listened to on audiobook. Dr. Sax talks about how the neurological differences between men and women, and how that influences how we perceive the world and the choices we make. He applies it to teaching and to childrearing. In short, his argument is that gender blind education is harmful because it…

How Children Learn by John Holt

American Literature July 20, 2009 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: John Holt’s diary of classroom observations. Review: How Children Learn is far too dense for me to critically analyze. Suffice to say I am really enamored of his respect for children, and inspired by his philosophies on facilitating learning. The closing paragraph of the book sums it up: In my mind’s ear I can hear the anxious voices of a hundred teachers asking me, “How can you tell, how can you be sure what the children are learning, or even that they are learning…

How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph by Linda Massey Weddle

American Literature June 5, 2009 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

Synopsis: A guide for parents for Bible study activities from age 2 through the teenage years, centered around Biblical knowledge and moral character. Review: I thought that How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph had some good ideas for educational activities for parents, but after reading Christless Christianity I read it with a much more critical eye. Modern-Day Joseph does contain the semi-Pelagian notions that we “make a decision for Christ” and that just doesn’t fly with Reformed (read Calvinist) me anymore. What I thought was…

How Children Fail by John Holt

American Literature May 25, 2009 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

Synopsis: The journals of a teacher reveal how the mistakes that children make reveal a lot about how they are failing to learn–and how schools are failing to teach. Review: How Children Fail was riveting reading. I loved how John Holt paid attention to the kids he encountered so that he could help them learn. He came to realize that teachers were seeking to impose structural forms on the minds of children, where children are best served by being led to develop those forms for…

John Holt on Learning to Read

American Literature July 19, 2008 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

From Learning All the Time: There are two diametrically opposite ways of opening to children the world of books. One was is to start them with the names and sounds of individual letters, then with small words, then with small groups of these words joined to make small sentences, then with small reading books, and then other books, each a little harder than the one before, until the children supposedly have enough reading skills to read any book they want. The trouble is that by…

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