How Children Learn (Classics in Child Development)

John Holt's classic has been around and pertinent for many many years ..... This is one of my foundational books that was a guide for me as a teacher of 28 years. Holt's classic HOW CHILDREN FAIL is equally as compelling and eye opening a classic. I was fortunate enough to study with an academic Child Developmental Professor who considered his work revolutionary over 20 years ago. As I developed my own teaching style and continued broadening and challenging the newest and greatest flavor of teaching over my career.... The concepts and the methods in this book and its sister book remainded the cornerstone of my own professional success...HOW CHILDREN LEARN AND HOW CHILDREN FAIL should be a gift to every teacher upon hiring. It is a timeless gift to all parents and teachers.

I picked up this book from Amazon because I am planning on homeschooling my children. Without going any further in my review, I want it to be known that this book has revolutionized my thinking on children and education. I always had a strong negative reaction to what's known as "the dicovery method," even as we were constantly presented with it in required classes for my education minor. My mind was truly opened as he explained case after case of how children really benefit, and in fact NEED, time to "mess about," as he is fond of calling it. Another thing that really struck me was how he explained the process of learning. Children are constantly in a state of testing what they know, but this process isn't necessarily linear. They are in a sort of state of uncertainty at almost all times. It takes a lot of testing to really know something, but once they know it, they know it. Forcing it into them by rote (or when they aren't interested in it or have not discovered it for themselves) is counterproductive. One of the things that I loved about this book is that it had lots of real-world examples of parents and educators putting this into practice, and then Mr. Holt would comment on these examples. I am very much more eager to learn as much as I can about "unschooling" now than I ever was. This book I will credit in years to come with changing my mind about "unschooling" (even though that term is not really used). This approach is different than anything I have seen (or maybe it has just given me a new perspective.) I could go on and on about the things I learned from this book. There were so many things in this book that I was inspired to do. In particular, he talks a lot about children writing on their own. They may just make scribbles, but to them they are writing something important. This is better than forcing them to write something in a certain way perfectly. They are exploring and learning. (It is ok for them to "mess about".) So today is my youngest daughter's birthday, and I asked my oldest daughter to write a card for her sister. She knows how to write some letters, but she mostly wrote lines of scribbles. But she pointed out that the piece of paper I gave her was too small to be a card, so I folded it like a greeting card. Then when she was finished, she wanted to "mail" it to her sister. I got an envelope and I asked her to write her sister's name. (I told her how to spell it, and she got most of the letters correct - writing the "e" backwards.) Then she wanted to "stamp" it, so I got her a square shaped sticker. She seemed to know approximately where to put it. She put it in the top right hand corner, but I was actually surprised. Then she had to put it in the "mailbox." She didn't ask to take it outside to the real mailbox, so we hunted for a spot around the house. I put it on the counter under my computer, and she said, "She won't be able to reach that." Then I moved it to a low shelf. She called her sister over, telling her she had mail. Then she "read" the note to her sister. Very little of this process was directed by me. I was so thrilled by this since it is so similar to stories throughout the book. If John Holt were alive, I would fangirl out and attend any lecture, book signing, or appearance of his. I have several more of his books, and I have bumped them up on my TBR list. I would highly recommend this book to anyone - parent, educator, HUMAN - who wants to understand children and learning better.

I loved this book. It really got me to think differently about my children's learning. It has helped me be a better mom. I read it because we are homeschooling/unschooling and it gave me a great perspective. I loved the nonjudgmental observations that John Holt makes. Because of his book I have started an observational journal to help me better determine my children's strengths and how they learn best.

For many years I wondered why kids are so hard to teach. Why can't they reason like adults do? Only recently, I've learned that kids are not "little adults". Their brains and desires are different. This book was originally published in 1962. Mr. Holt's wisdom and insight has been available since then. Too bad that few people paid attention to him. Children can only learn. Who "taught" you to walk? An interesting quote from one of Holt's colleagues, "If we taught children to speak, they'd never learn." Children will learn what they need to learn, but in their own time, and on their own terms. If they prefer to play, let them play. This was the policy of Alexander Neill in his Summerhill school in England. We must let kids be kids. What is the hurry to run them through an assembly-line schooling system where their curiosity and creativity are destroyed, and replaced with the timidity of a whipped pup? I have the same endorsement for Holt's other book, "How Children Fail".

Sometimes it's a challenge to take a step back and observe, especially where our children are concerned. My natural response to my son's curiosity has always been to get involved and to interject my own knowledge into his little discoveries. This book is worth reading if for nothing else than a fresh perspective. It is highly anecdotal, but this encourages a more apprising view of the educational system and our children. Having read this book I am noticing things about my son that I had not originally made the intellectual space for. For many of us, homeschooling our children begins by altering our own view of the world.

This was a used copy but it was in excellent condition and I am enjoying the book. It has helped me find another perspective to helping my children learn without being too strict about it. The format (journal entries) helps give a lot of real life examples to demonstrate the ideas the author is teaching. Really good read for parents of young children (under 12).

I love how his purpose is to inspire us to love, respect, marvel at and trust children. He is practical and shares many many stories of children he has observed "in their natural habitats " and who are obviously objects of his affection and admiration. Anyone who deals with children at all should read this book. Every page inspired me as a mom and homeschool teacher and almost every reading session left tears in my eyes. John Holt's love and respect for children is infectious.

This book is half about how children learn, and the other half is about what not to do as a teacher. I found that every one of my Jr. High teachers do at least one thing that John Holt says you shouldn't do. He could have written a few books about how teachers fail, but i guess sticking with children was fine. I think John Holt is a great man, and I am sad that I will never get to meet him. (without cloning and/or time travel)

This is a must must read for all parents and educators.

almost a philosophical book on childhood. I loved it! it shows in a very easy way how children love to learn, without the need to teach them. they learn because they are human and are eager to learn. as simple as that. if you love childhood and want to understand it better, buy it!

Haven't read the entire book quite yet but wanted to get my thoughts out already. So this is a pre-emptive 5 stars but it already deserves it so take it for what it is. The basic concepts behind what John Holt is explaining in the book are very different from what most people consider the "right" way of parenting. His section early on about how so many parents pay thousands of dollars for their kids to go to school but yell and scream at them if they happen to break something in a store worth just a few dollars. Let your kids experience the world. They're curious. Having my first child this year and will absolutely be putting what John Holt speaks about in this book to practice. Highly recommended for all parents and parents-to-be.

偏差値ちゃうねん、教育ってそういうことじゃ無いねん、と考える人には勇気つけられる内容が書いてあると思います。平易な文体なので英検準一級くらいあれば問題なく読めるのでは無いかと思います。

GOOD ONE