Everyday Genius, The: Restoring Children's Natural Joy of Learning [Hardcover]

Peter Kline (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1995

Explains why and how successful learning occurs. It is a practical guide for producing confident, eager learners at any age, in any school. Peter Kline's ideas and his ability to apply them in practical, down-to-earth situations have already helped transform the lives of many children, their families, and teachers. Any one of dozens of wonderfully simple and powerful ideas, games and exercises in this book could instantly ignite a spark, and change a life forever.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Everyday Genius explains why and how successful learning occurs. It is a practical guide for producing confident, eager learners-at any age, in any school.

As a parent or teacher, you have enormous power to shape children attitudes about learning, and you can profoundly influence their self-perceptions and expectations for success.

Peter Kline ideas and his ability to apply them in practical, down-to-earth situations have already helped transform the lives of many children, their families, and teachers. He has the experience to know what really works in the home and classroom, and the ability to communicate it so that people immediately want to jump in and try it. Any one of dozens of wonderfully simple and powerful ideas, games, and exercises in this book could instantly ignite a spark and change a life forever.

About the Author

An exponent of innovative, highly successful educational and organizational practices, Peter Kline has pioneered methods that accelerate learning and bring involvement and excitement to the classroom and the workplace. A consultant to government agencies, corporations and school systems worldwide, he has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs and has been the subject of worldwide media coverage.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Great River Books (March 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915556170
• ISBN-13: 978-0915556175
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,377,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Everyday Genius, April 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Everyday Genius, The: Restoring Children's Natural Joy of Learning (Paperback)

As a student, I was assigned this reading. I found the latter half of the book to be the most useful. However, I thought that the first eleven chapters could have been revised to approximately three chapters. The most impressive part of this book is Kline's examples of his learning philosophies. These examples include games, activities, and exercises that are applicable in the home and classroom. Overall this read was intelligent and insightful. Kline has some truly amazing ideas.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I maintain that this book can definitely help to pave the way for all readers in the quest for learning!, October 11, 2006

By 

Lee Say Keng "KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURER/TECHNOLOGY... (Ho Chi Minh City/Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everyday Genius, The: Restoring Children's Natural Joy of Learning (Paperback)

I own both the paper-pack & hard-pack versions of this wonderful book. I was introduced to it by my PhotoReading instructor/co-developer, Patricia Danielson from New England, MA, during the early nineties. It is pertinent to mention that 'The Everyday Genius' is synonymous with PhotoReading, as far as the ultimate application is concerned. In fact, Peter Kline has contributed quite substantially to the early development of PhotoReading, according to the principal developer of the technology, Paul Scheele.

From my personal perspective, the principal theme is nurturing learners in the world. As such, it has great relevancy to parents (the primary audience) as well as to teachers & employers/bosses/managers in the workplace.

The author, a true learner himself, has an amazing gamut of practical ideas for developing & nurturing learners at home & in the workplace.

During the years I have owned a small bookstore from the early nineties up to mid-2004, this book happens to be one of my anchor books. I often recommend it to visiting parents to my store as well as to managers/bosses who are responsible for many people working under them. The feedback from them has always been tremendously positive. Many have returned to buy further copies to be given away as gifts.

There is an everyday genius in all of us. Sometimes, we need to rub the Aladdin lamp rigourously to get the genie out. This book, packed with insights, games, activities & exercises, can serve that purpose.

Yes, I must add that the book can be intellectually quite intense for some people to read. Neverthelesss, I strongly recommend reading it.

Let me conclude this review by recapitulating an observation made by John Naisbitt, a futurist/thought leader, many years ago, "In a world that is constantly changing, there is no one subject, or set of subjects, that can serve us for the foreseeable future, let alone for the rest of our lives. The most important thing for us is to learn, unlearn & relearn." I maintain that this book can definitely help to pave the way for all readers in the quest for learning.

[To Parents/Teachers who want more specific tools & strategies to help their kids/students in attaining school success, please get hold of the author's 'School Success: An Inside Story'. To Managers/Professionals, please get hold of the author's 'Ten Steps to a Learning Organisation.' These are excellent & insightful productions!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Adults!, July 23, 2001

By 

Jessie Bader (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Everyday Genius, The: Restoring Children's Natural Joy of Learning (Paperback)

I sometimes forget to slow my life down enough to pay attention to the lessons that children can teach me about how to live my life. Every child that is born into this world is a laughing, singing, creative and powerful individual. Often it seems that by the time we reach adulthood we have lost the ability to laugh and sing. Peter Kline seriously addresses the process of learning from all angles. Extremely instructive to adults!!!

Some favorite passages:

"Creativity is a function of our whole personality and its interaction with the world, not something we turn on or off. The more we see ourselves as innovative and original thinkers, the more creative we tend to be"..."So whatever else we may say about creativity, these three things are essential to it: we must value our uniqueness, we must trust the worth of our experience, and we must be able to draw freely and widely on the full range of that experience, which is the content of our memory." P 190

"Experiencing disharmony between what we say and what we feel leads to a vague sense of anxiety and not being at home in the world - a sense that some philosophers assume is an inescapable part of the human condition. However, the origin of this anxiety is not human nature, it is in our withholding or even becoming unaware of what we really feel - in failing to live our lives fully. Accepting emotions helps us get beneath the surface in order to discover the rich and wonderful process of being." P 219

"Whenever you feel you are learning nothing from the person you are with, or the situation you are in, it is time to return again to whatever springs inspire in you the development of new learning skills, and drink as deeply as you can. Then you will be better able to discover that each person you meet has a fund of experinece so rich that no matter what thier differences in worldly accomplishments may be from yours, you can learn from them and they from you. Some of my own finest learning experiences have come from those who had lived long lives without the advantage of education or even literacy. Experience of any kind is always richly and uniquely instructive." P 252