55 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wow! I must be missing something!, August 8, 2006
I am stunned by all the five star reviews. I bought this book based on the glowing reviews, particularly the ones describing this book as offering practical advice about homeschooling. I found virtually none. Aside from a great deal of writing about Albert's own life and experience homeschooling his daughters, there is not much new information here. School testing is no good. The system is messed up. School squashes the love of learning right out of kids. John Taylor Gatto and John Holt have already gone over that. You would be much better off to have "Dumbing Us Down" and "Teach Your Own" on your bookshelf, unless, of course, you enjoy reading (ad nauseum) about Albert's own coming of age and the triumphs of his daughters.
The major point of his homeschooling philosophy can be summed up in one short idea. Children should lead the way in their own education, both in terms of content and timeframe. I believe that concept is not new. It's called unschooling. As one reviewer says, "Albert addresses such perennial issues as perfectionism, phonics/learning to read, wanting to quit music lessons, the reluctant writer, the Nintendo-crazed child, ADD/ADHD, the teen years, and those traffic-stopping questions your children unfailingly throw at you as you maneuver your car home." However, his answer is always the same. Let the child lead the way. OK, I get it...for the millionth time!
Potential readers should also know that he makes many nasty remarks about curriculum choices based on "The Well-Trained Mind" and E.D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge Series. These comments are so denigrating and vicious that it was hard for me to keep reading about all of the author's lovely experiences without thinking of him as just a one-dimensional man. Personally, I have no particular attraction to either of those curriculum choices. (I'm a Charlotte Mason homeschooler and I do, in fact, lean in an unschooling direction.) Still, I thought the way he expressed his thoughts about them exposed him as a holier-than-thou sort and, quite frankly, condescending and rude. The reviewer who said that Albert can come across as self-glorifying was right on the money.
My main problem with this book is that I was expecting practical homeschooling commentary and advice and was instead bombarded with Albert's social commentary at virtually every turn. He confesses himself to be a liberal. Honestly, I really don't care. It's just not the book I thought I was buying. I care about world issues like children being sold into slavery in Pakistan and, indeed, social injustice and the long history of racism in this country. However, this book seems to be improperly classified as a homeschooling book. I wish someone had reviewed it with more specifics before I made the mistake of purchasing it.
Near the end of the book, Albert advises parents to experience a catharsis (I suppose) by forgiving the teachers we had growing up for all the injustices committed against us. Well, I totally buy into the idea that schools are in trouble. Textbooks are rotten, children aren't viewed and valued as individuals, testing is out of control and skewed, much needed recess is disappearing, etc., etc., etc. However, his assumption seems to be that all of his readers have had nothing but bad experiences with individual teachers. Throughout his book, he has nothing good to say about teachers. A large portion of his writing is dedicated to his bad experiences in school. By the end, his personal anecdotes start to read like a lot of sour grapes about teachers rather than a true representation of the failure of the educational system. Not all of us were made to feel small and insignificant by our teachers. Not all of us had our dying bean plants removed from our classroom, never to be mentioned again, robbing us of a valuable learning experience. Furthermore, like it or not, not everyone is capable of homeschooling their children and public schools are here to stay. To blame the (mostly) noble people called to the teaching profession for the problems doled out by bureaucrats is unfair and self-defeating. Public schools and their teachers would be better served if homeschoolers relentlessly advocated changes in the system from which we are lucky enough to have the resources to remove our own children. For someone who supposedly cares so much for humanity, Albert offers very little in the way of advice for correcting the problems with education in America...but I sure got an earful about the costs (both monetary and ethical) of sending a blanket to orphans in Afghanistan. Of course, correcting the problems of the schools wasn't the aim of this book but he might as well have made an attempt since he strayed so far off course in the first place.
If you really want practical advice about unschooling, buy "The Unschooling Handbook." Even Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series has more practical advice AND inspiration to boot! For more inspiration, I read Jim Trelease's "The Read-Aloud Manual" again and again.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You will want your own copy, May 7, 2003
By A Customer
You will want to own this book, not borrow it, because you'll want to read it over and over again. It's truly a classic, and not just for homeschoolers. This book for me was an experience and inspiration, not just a "read." It was a window into my own soul and the souls of my children. I loved my children more as I was reading the book (if that's possible). Though there are plenty of practical ideas on homeschooling in this book, the author doesn't stop there. He also indirectly poses answers to questions such as: How can homeschooling increase the quality of life for everyone in the family? How can the process of homeschooling improve one as a human being? And even, how can homeschooling make the world a better place - not after the homeschooler has grown up and starts using his or her education, but as, well, a side effect of the homeschooling process?
You could substitute "raising children" or "living life" for "homeschooling" in the above questions, and the answers given in the book are just as relevent. That's why this book is not just for homeschoolers, but for anybody interested in those ideas. Like another reviewer, I found the social studies section alone worth the price of the book. Because the book is written as a series of essays on numerous topics, you can mostly likely find something that will resonate or be helpful at any given time. I've read dozens of books on homeschooling and education, but this one has a place reserved on my shelf with a handful of others that are true classics and that I will read again and again.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BUY MULTIPLE COPIES!, March 28, 2003
David Albert's new homeschooler's dream of a book is organized into essays that busy parents can savor in stolen moments, but I read this book as soon as I got it in the mail, let my partner handle the spills and pick up the Legos that evening, while I read this beautiful ode to those most wonderful mentors who are own children, read the whole book in one gulp and was wonderfully excited again about the homeschooling path my family has chosen. Sheesh! I thought I'd loved Albert's previous book *And the Skylark Sings With Me* --you know, nodding and smiling on every page--but this one had me choking back sobs in my throat. I'm here on the computer just to tell everyone BUY MULTIPLE COPIES of this book and give them out to every new homeschooler you talk to who gives you that "oh what have I done, I've taken her out of school!" look, give copies to your in laws, give copies to the old homeschoolers who don't read the new stuff anymore because they're out learning in the field--I can't imagine anyone who won't get a charge out of this collection of essays. It's stuff you won't learn from an extended Google search, it's stuff every tired, guilt-ridden, hand-wringing parent needs to hear---great for the burnt out late Winter/early Spring blahs everyone seems to be having!
I think I've read the whole canon of homeschooling books out there, and I can honestly recommend this one as the book that can and will change your homeschooling life.
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