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How Children Fail (Classics in Child Development) Paperback – September 4, 1995

by John Holt (Author)

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First published in the mid 1960s, How Children Fail began an education reform movement that continues today. In his 1982 edition, John Holt added new insights into how children investigate the world, into the perennial problems of classroom learning, grading, testing, and into the role of the trust and authority in every learning situation. His understanding of children, the clarity of his thought, and his deep affection for children have made both How Children Fail and its companion volume, How Children Learn, enduring classics.

How Children Fail (Classics in Child Development)

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Product Details

Series: Classics in Child Development
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press; Revised edition (September 4, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0201484021
ISBN-13: 978-0201484021
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #404 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > Educational Psychology
- #435 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > Philosophy & Social Aspects
- #595 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Child Psychology

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Customer Reviews

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4 star		41%
3 star		15%
2 star		4%
1 star		5%

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Top Customer Reviews

Essential for anyone working with children

ByGulley Jimsonon June 19, 2003

Format: Paperback

I was struggling to teach seventh grade reading when I came across this book. It had been mentioned in a William Gaddis essay, so I picked it up and I can honestly say that it's changed the way I look at the world. Like all great books, it says things that seem to always have been under your nose, that always bothered you a little, and says them with such simplicity that you're not sure how you could have missed them.
Once Holt's ideas are in your head I assure you that they'll become part of your mental model of the way things work: every time I was in front of my classroom I could see my students reading me for answers, and engaging in a hundred games and subterfuges based on the anxiety caused by the way my school forced me to run things - along, of course, with what I had always assumed education had to be.
It bothers me that this book is given to teachers who agree with its observations but declare that the solution is not to create the sort of environment that Holt recommends, but to keep schools exactly the same and just make it harder for kids to fake the answers; to engage in a battle of wits to force them to think; and provide all sorts of unrelated incentives to get the students to try their hardest. This book forced me to look at how phony most of my teaching was, and I am confident that the solution does not involve putting a slightly new face to the phoniness.

22 comments 86 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

I prefer his later work

ByBethon March 30, 2006

Format: Paperback

This book is one of John Holt's earliest published works. At this stage he still thinks that schools are essentially very good (and very necessary) institutions with a few things wrong with them that it is quite possible to fix. Later he becomes disillusioned with that notion, and begins to advocate alternative schools. Eventually he realizes that the very nature of schooling and the assumptions it is built upon go against some of his most dearly held ideals, and he begins to advocate 'unschooling,' starting the publication "Growing Without Schooling" and the organization Holt Associates.

I think that this book is a valuable read if you want to understand the evolution of Holt's thoughts about education, but I would also recommend you take a look at his later works. Personally, I'm a big fan of "Teach Your Own."

0Comment 69 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Facing Our Demons

ByMaria Moraleson April 24, 2000

Format: Paperback

This book with its simple format and language has opened my eyes to possibilities and perspectives that I simply never thought of. As an educator, I think everyone in the world of education should read. From policy-makers to administrators to teachers to school psychologists, and very specially, parents, we all owe it to our children and to ourselves to become informed and critical about the efficiency (or the lack thereof) of our educational system. Especially at times, such as now, when our children seem to be failing more than ever. Holt's observations, although limited to private schools, provide one with a solid view of what is happening in the world of teaching accross the board. Holt makes and answers questions that are not only relevant to his subject but vital to the development of better teaching. Holt's idea that we don't know enough about student-teacher relationships could not be more accurate. I know this because I am an educator. I agree with Holt when he says that it is time that we look beyond ourselves and our own interest and begin looking at students with respect. As an insider, I couldn't help blushing while reading the reasons that Holt gives for children's failure in school. I was only able to nod my head positively when he said that teachers aren't listening to their students because they are only listening to what they want to hear. Another reason children fail, according to Holt, is that they are not being intellectually challenged enough at school. The conclusion made by Holt makes plenty of sense. Teachers definitely need to make every effort to free their teaching from ambiguity, confusion and self-contradiction. Besides teachers, the pointing finger also points to standardized exams. Standardized exams, I agree with the author, do not make our children more knowledgeable. Holt's final verdict is clear and pungent: Students are failing because adults-teachers, administrators, parents, policy-makers, etc.-are not doing their jobs. Although not a pleasant thing to hear (especially for those of us who have chosen to dedicate our lives to the education of our young), I am personally grateful to Mr. Holt for taking a bold stand to face us with our demons.

11 comment 38 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

invaluable insight

ByJ. Weedon April 29, 2007

Format: Paperback

All the years I've been "against" public school, they were for reasons I'd researched, or came from my own bad experiences and those of my child, and other reasons I just "felt" inside but couldn't explain... I'd certainly built a case for myself as to what was wrong with the whole environment. But I still had never seen or imagined what Mr Holt saw through the eyes of a teacher (yet I could relate it to my entire experience at public school and knew he was speaking the truth). As I read his book it just filled in so many of the vague holes I'd felt as to why I didn't like public school but couldn't explain why. What invaluable insight into what really goes on! It was truly a turning point in my resolve to homeschool. I wish I'd read this years earlier.

0Comment 13 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Five Stars

nice read

Published 8 months ago by Rhonda D. Williams

Very insightful, clear investigation into the need for reflective ...

Very insightful, clear investigation into the need for reflective and autonomous learning. Having read this and now looking back on my own education, as an older person/ teacher/...Read more

Published 8 months ago by Lunar Pole

Five Stars

Great book.

Published 8 months ago by Derek Kelley

I had already fallen in love with the idea of unschooling

I don't know where to start. This book changed me on a fundamental level. It started kind of slow for me, but by the end my understanding of children, learning, and school were...Read more

Published 8 months ago by reflectionmommy

Surprisingly wonderful book!

I really like the form this book was written in-journal form, through out most of the book. With it being a accurate daily journal of his experience with children, it gave...Read more

Published 1 year ago by PrairieGirl

Read this now!

A classic for a reason. Holt's observations about children and teaching are profound and intuitive. This book was thought-provoking to the extreme.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Mel

Five Stars

Good material in good condition

Published 1 year ago by femi emmanuel

A Primer For How To Fail A Teaching Course The Exact Opposite Advice To Good Advice i.e. Pure Bad Advice

The worst education advice money can buy. I was lent this in 1984 when I was undertaking a diploma of education.

I suppose this book focuses on the humanities.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Andrew Oliver

Five Stars

As expected

Published on September 2, 2014 by Ramiro Aponte M.

How Children Fail

This was a gift, the person liked it, they are home schooling their children as the schools where they live is not great.

Published on January 14, 2014 by Shelby Hendren

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How Children Fail (Classics in Child Development) Paperback – September 4, 1995

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