If we look at children only to see whether they are doing what we want or don’t want them to do, we are likely to miss all the things about them that are the most interesting and important. -John Holt, from How Children Fail
Illich: The Right to Learn
Together we have come to realize that the right to learn is curtailed by the obligation to attend school. -Ivan Illich, Austrian philosopher
Sleeping Outside the Box: Part 1
Six years ago, when our twins were born, we added a second floor to our home. One day Gary, our builder, took me aside. “Let me design a bedroom that will be a sanctuary,” he said. He went on to describe a room of enormous proportions, complete with cathedral ceilings, walk-in closet, master bath with […]
Kohn: No Need to Control
Some who support the more coercive strategies assume that children will run wild if they are not controlled. However, the children for whom this is true typically turn out to be those accustomed to being controlled – those who are not trusted, given explanations, encouraged to think for themselves, helped to develop and internalize good […]
Gatto: Enemies
By supporting school-imposed order, however innocently, parents make enemies of their own children, sometimes lifelong enemies. -John Taylor Gatto, from Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling