The Pitcher Cries for Water to Carry and a Person for Work That Is Real

I just finished reading John Holt's last book, Learning All the Time (Addison-Wesley, 1989), and while it's full of interesting ideas and stories, this especially caught my attention:Schools, top-rank or low-rank, have always operated under the wonderfully convenient rule that when learning takes place, the school deserves the credit ("If You Can Read, Thank a Teacher"); and that when it doesn't,

The Pitcher Cries for Water to Carry and a Person for Work That Is Real

I just finished reading John Holt's last book, Learning All the Time (Addison-Wesley, 1989), and while it's full of interesting ideas and stories, this especially caught my attention:Schools, top-rank or low-rank, have always operated under the wonderfully convenient rule that when learning takes place, the school deserves the credit ("If You Can Read, Thank a Teacher"); and that when it doesn't,

Freedom Is Slavery

I'm rereading John Holt's great book How Children Fail (Pitman, 1964), which has been on my mind since I wrote about rewards, punishments, and competition last week. I first thought of digging it out when a friend thought that when I criticized traditional modes of schooling, I meant how poor kids schools in poor districts suffered "in our inequitable system." As I pointed out at the time, I

Freedom Is Slavery

I'm rereading John Holt's great book How Children Fail (Pitman, 1964), which has been on my mind since I wrote about rewards, punishments, and competition last week. I first thought of digging it out when a friend thought that when I criticized traditional modes of schooling, I meant how poor kids schools in poor districts suffered "in our inequitable system." As I pointed out at the time, I