Customer Reviews

Lessons for Tomorrow

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading a lot of John Taylor Gatto and other critical education writers, I was initially hesitant about a book written by someone who's background was technology-based learning. Like homeschooling, a lot of online and computer-based learning is the same school game in a different package. I was pleasantly proved incorrect.

Davis forms a cogent summary of the deep, root issues of modern schooling and why no reform will cure them. Like Gatto, he concludes that a total rehaul of the system is needed.

The "learner-centered learning architecture" that Davis elaborates on is a strong blend of focus on individual needs/wants, appropriate use of modern technology (mostly computers), and realistic appraisal of new roles for teachers/mentors/adults. His vision is realizable.

Davis' overall strong writing is marred by occasional off-topic chapters, seemingly thrown together at random, and at times his writing feels like a 10th grade term paper with its repititive introductions and conclusions. On the whole, the writing style is strong and commanding.

I gave the book 5 stars because his analysis of the schoooling/education problem is excellent, his "prime directives" of learner-centered education are valid, and he makes strong, original suggestions for an alternative system of public education.

If you like this book, be sure to check out Gatto, Llewllyn, the Sudbury Valley School books... don't be constrained to the Barnes'n'Noble selection of Kohn, Kozol, and the rest of the progressives!

As an educator and single mother of two accomplished young adults, I found Mr. Davis' incredible historical expose and proposition for change absolutely affirming.

In my own parenting experience, very early on it was easy for me to clue into and begin nurturing my daughters' inborn curiosities and talents. Understanding infant and early childhood development as well as that of the human brain, perhaps I had a bit of an edge. Nevertheless, as soon as "we" (the girls and I) entered the public schools, it became immediately clear that "the institution", by its design, was hosing the fire for learning -- a fire that is essential to healthy, successful individual and community life.

My zeal to continue nurturing my children in a way that allowed them not only to remain eager life-long learners and grow into good citizens, but to also become (within their abilities and interests) all that they aspired to be, put me (and other families with similar concerns) in direct opposition with the system ... this challenge drained large amounts of valuable time, energy and resources that could have been invested in families and community life in other areas of tremendous need!

In my professional life over the last 25 years, I have also witnessed the consequence to many communities of the "dumbing down" process. It is a design that, if not replaced by an education architecture such as that so expertly set forth by Mr. Davis, will take us into the abyss.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE ...

"Lessons for Tomorrow" should be required reading of every educator, parent and community leader. Please read this book and share it with others.

Thank you, Mr. Davis, for bringing this critical discussion to a new level and providing a workable architectural plan that can meaningfully replace what has long been obsolete.

Coming from the angle of layperson and concerned parent of two young Montessori students, this book was spot on. The history of educational philosophy, from ancient Greece through Colonial America, to the modern age, gives the reader a strong understanding of educational goals and methods throughout history.
The idea that student initiative and interest is essential for true learning blends well with what I believe and have experienced in my short exposure to the Montessori method. Mr Davis is thorough in his documentation of our educational shortcomings (shockingly so I might add), and explicit in his model for education in the 21st Century and beyond. Let's just say, the teachers union will probably argue with many of his suggestions. While the reading can be "heavy" at times, it is approachable for the layperson, and hefty enough for the policy wonks and academics to sink their teeth into.
Buy 2 books and give one to your local school principal! Change can only begin with a debate at the local level...

A brilliant and insightful book for educators and parents, "Lessons for Tomorrow" is a user's guide to improve and adapt our system of education to readjust the focus from the needs of an industrial society to the needs of society facing the challenges of the 21st Century. As an educator and a parent, I found this book to be helpful, inspiring and revealing as it addresses how to meet the needs of our young people today. Whatever your interest, "Lessons for Tomorrow" will help clarify and illuminate both the challenges and the solutions our educational system faces today.

This was a book thrust upon me, on a subject that sounded genuinely boring. I was spring-loaded to rapidly skim through it and put it down, never to consider it again. I was truly prepared not to enjoy it.
Almost immediately, however, I found myself regularly agreeing with the author and examining, in my own mind, how the issues of learning related to my individual educational experience and those of my children. By the end of the book I was mentally prepared to start handing out copies to all the educators I knew and all politicians I could access. With luck, maybe my grandchildren will derive benefit from a reformulation of our system of public education.

Finally some new ideas! I think parents (I am one)feel beaten down by the educational system that hasn't improved since our own school days. This entrenched methodology has to be replaced by a system that will do justice to our children and give us the well-educated adults we need for them to become. Davis's book is revealing and puts the issues into a greater context that goes beyond merely tweaking the status quo, and gives us a look at what we could accomplish with fresh thinking. I highly recommend this book.

Not only have I read Mr. Davis' book, but I have been fortunate enough to communicate with him about it. I believe this is the ultimate look at a progressive, forward thinking view of where education needs to go. It has inspired me to be more vocal with policy makers in my state, and to be a part of a necessary revolution in the field of education. This book is a MUST READ for anyone in the field of education who is serious about what they do for a living. I would like to thank Mr. Davis for this work and look forward to the next.