"You don’t learn to love freedom by being a slave." This and many other juicy quotes by John Holt and author/psychologist Richard Farson are in this interview from 1974 about children's rights. Read about the interview and listen to it here . . .
Read MorePeople think research about the efficacy of schooling proves that our national well-being, personal advancement, and intellectual abilities are deeply connected to attending school. A new article argues that research about the efficacy of education is deeply flawed and prevents us from creating better solutions for helping children learn. . .
Read MoreKen Danford, a cofounder of NorthStar: Self-Directed Learning for Teens, does a TEDx presentation about this unique resource center upon its 18th anniversary.
Read MoreI lived through the reading wars and survived, though it wasn’t easy in the homeschooling movement. Phonics purists couldn’t quite embrace John Holt’s ideas since he considered phonics to be just one way that children can learn to read, and not necessarily the best way. “It is good books, not good reading methods, that make good readers,” John said . . .
Read MoreErik Martin, 17, notes in How World of Warcraft Saved Me and My Education: "With the exception of a few exceptional teachers, school at large operates counter to the interests of children. In school, we’re not taught to overcome a challenge, we’re taught to fear the prospect of failure . . ."
Read MoreThis is the complete episode of John Holt and two homeschooling families contending with a fairly hostile audience (one person is so mean in their comments about one of the homeschooled children that Donahue cuts her off!). Though it is from 1981, I think all the criticisms, responses, and issues are pretty much the same today despite the continued growth of homeschooling. What do you think?
Read MoreAlison Gopnick's research into how children learn supports so many of the observations John Holt wrote about, especially his chapter from Learning All the Time, "Young Children as Research Scientists."
Recent national news about homeschooling.
Mosaiculture is a horiticultural art form you can share with your family. All sorts ideas and opportunities for exploration are embedded in this unique, outdoor art.
What happens when homeschoolers get to use a technological platform reserved for university-level courses (Blackboard Collaborate) to co-create a free, online, nonsectarian homeschooling event? Read about it and see some presentations to draw your own conclusions.
A short video for John Holt's Escape From Childhood: The Needs and Rights of Children that features Holt's own description of his work with children.
Here's a short ad for The Legacy of John Holt using a great moment from Holt's second appearance on The Donahue Show, when Phil Donahue asks John to respond, in one sentence, how schools could be better.
Read MoreIn Germany, homeschooling has been banned due to concerns about children "adopting their parents' opinions"—this was among other reasons, but it is a major reason cited by the authorities. What, exactly, does this mean in practice?
Read MoreSpecial Promotion for Kindle Readers.
From Saturday, October 12 until midnight Monday October 14, download The Legacy of John Holt: A Man Who Truly Understood, Trusted, and Respected Children for FREE (normally $9.99).
Read MoreHomeschooling is spreading around the world, but it is facing serious challenges from institutions and governments that prefer a single, compulsory, standardized education system for processing everyone.
Read More"Children today are cossetted and pressured in equal measure. Without the freedom to play they will never truly grow up . . ." Thoughts about Dr. Peter Gray's latest article, The Play Deficit.
Dr. Peter Gray writes a followup article to his controversial Salon essay, "School is a Prison and Damaging Our Children" . . .
Read MoreThe latest U.S. Dept. of Education study of the number of homeschoolers in America shows continuing growth, though the rate of growth is slowing . . .
Read MoreThe latest issue of Learning All the Time, the HoltGWS newsletter, is now available for free.
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