School Can Wait [Paperback]

Raymond S. Moore (Author), Dorothy N. Moore (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 281 pages
• Publisher: Hewitt Research Foundation (August 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0842513140
• ISBN-13: 978-0842513142
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #638,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This books has the facts you need about early schooling, October 19, 2004

By 

Nels Tomlinson (Juneau, Alaska, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: School Can Wait (Paperback)

If you have kids, or if you pay taxes that support schools, you need to read this book.

The Moores' thesis is that children aren't physically or emotionally ready for school until they are 10 to 12 years old. Emotionally, younger children (age 10 and below) need a loving, permanent relationship with a few persons. This is a perfect description of the relationship between parents and child. Sending the young child off to school gives the child the opposite of that: at school the child gets superficial relationships with many people. The result is that the child loses the sense of security he needs, forms unsatisfactory bonds with other children, and may never form the essential bond with his parents. Physically, children's brains are simply not ready for many of the demands of school before age 10 to 12, so the years spent in school are wasted academically. The gains that the children make during those early years in school could be made in a year or two starting at a later age, with fewer negative consequences.

Homeschooling parents don't have to worry about the emotional affects of typical homechooling practice, but we do have to worry about trying to push academics too early. This book shows us that it is possible to push too much, too early, and that the harm we do could outweigh the good. It's not all gloom; I think that it can also show us how to push our kids as fast as they should go, and no faster.

The Moores present an impressive and convincing mass of research from the fields of optometry, neurophysiology, sociology and education to support their thesis. The bibliography has over 700 entries, mostly peer-reviewed research. The Moores contribution with this book has been to tie together research threads from several disciplines, and make it accessible to parents, while still making it useful to scholars.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for home educators as well as professionals, March 23, 2007

By 

Trish (Fayetteville, NC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: School Can Wait (Paperback)

At first glance, this seems like a text on early childhood education for sociologists, psychologists, early child educators, and college students only. As you get into the text, however, you find that the end of numerous chapters are dedicated to parents who want to give their children the best learning opportunities possible at home. Super book for parents that aren't interested in farming their kids out to daycare as soon as possible. Primary caregivers (moms or dads) this is excellent reading to give you a boost if you're thinking your job at home isn't really important and critical to your child's future.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Technical, September 8, 2005

By 

Shannon Wilcox "Grandmommy's Library" (The heart of Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: School Can Wait (Paperback)

Good info to have and my daughter did glean a few good suggestions from four pages of practical ideas which are categorized by age. However, this was not the down-to-earth layman's version of "Why school should be postponed." Glancing through some of the chapter titles gives you a good idea of what type of reading this will be..."Dilemmas in Early Childhood Policies and Practices", "Neuropsychological Factors in learning", etc. Good for someone who wants to bolster an intellectual argument for the author's premise, which is, by the way, a good one.