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

by John Holt (Author)

59 customer reviews

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How Children Learn, 50th anniversary edition (A Merloyd Lawrence Book)
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This enduring classic of educational thought offers teachers and parents deep, original insight into the nature of early learning. John Holt was the first to make clear that, for small children, “learning is as natural as breathing.” In this delightful yet profound book, he looks at how we learn to talk, to read, to count, and to reason, and how we can nurture and encourage these natural abilities in our children.”

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Holt (1927-1985), one of this country's leading educational and social critics, was the author of ten influential books which have been translated into fourteen languages. Known both as a passionate reformer and as ”the gentle voice of reason” (Life magazine), John Holt offers insights into the nature of learning that are more relevant today than ever before.

Series: Classics in Child Development
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press; Revised edition (September 4, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780201484045
ISBN-13: 978-0201484045
ASIN: 0201484048
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 59 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #250 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Reference
- #253 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > Educational Psychology
- #414 in Books > Education & Teaching > Schools & Teaching > Homeschooling

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Emily Cargile

This book revolutionized my thinking

January 5, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I picked up this book from Amazon because I am planning on homeschooling my children.
Without going any further in my review, I want it to be known that this book has revolutionized my thinking on children and education. I always had a strong negative reaction to what's known as "the dicovery method," even as we were constantly presented with it in required classes for my education minor. My mind was truly opened as he explained case after case of how children really benefit, and in fact NEED, time to "mess about," as he is fond of calling it. Another thing that really struck me was how he explained the process of learning. Children are constantly in a state of testing what they know, but this process isn't necessarily linear. They are in a sort of state of uncertainty at almost all times. It takes a lot of testing to really know something, but once they know it, they know it. Forcing it into them by rote (or when they aren't interested in it or have not discovered it for themselves) is counterproductive.
One of the things that I loved about this book is that it had lots of real-world examples of parents and educators putting this into practice, and then Mr. Holt would comment on these examples.
I am very much more eager to learn as much as I can about "unschooling" now than I ever was. This book I will credit in years to come with changing my mind about "unschooling" (even though that term is not really used). This approach is different than anything I have seen (or maybe it has just given me a new perspective.) I could go on and on about the things I learned from this book.
There were so many things in this book that I was inspired to do. In particular, he talks a lot about children writing on their own. They may just make scribbles, but to them they are writing something important. This is better than forcing them to write something in a certain way perfectly. They are exploring and learning. (It is ok for them to "mess about".) So today is my youngest daughter's birthday, and I asked my oldest daughter to write a card for her sister. She knows how to write some letters, but she mostly wrote lines of scribbles. But she pointed out that the piece of paper I gave her was too small to be a card, so I folded it like a greeting card. Then when she was finished, she wanted to "mail" it to her sister. I got an envelope and I asked her to write her sister's name. (I told her how to spell it, and she got most of the letters correct - writing the "e" backwards.) Then she wanted to "stamp" it, so I got her a square shaped sticker. She seemed to know approximately where to put it. She put it in the top right hand corner, but I was actually surprised. Then she had to put it in the "mailbox." She didn't ask to take it outside to the real mailbox, so we hunted for a spot around the house. I put it on the counter under my computer, and she said, "She won't be able to reach that." Then I moved it to a low shelf. She called her sister over, telling her she had mail. Then she "read" the note to her sister. Very little of this process was directed by me. I was so thrilled by this since it is so similar to stories throughout the book.
If John Holt were alive, I would fangirl out and attend any lecture, book signing, or appearance of his. I have several more of his books, and I have bumped them up on my TBR list.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone - parent, educator, HUMAN - who wants to understand children and learning better.

2 people found this helpful3 people found this helpful

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Robert Brown

A must for parents

October 14, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

For many years I wondered why kids are so hard to teach. Why can't they reason like adults do? Only recently, I've learned that kids are not "little adults". Their brains and desires are different. This book was originally published in 1962. Mr. Holt's wisdom and insight has been available since then. Too bad that few people paid attention to him. Children can only learn. Who "taught" you to walk? An interesting quote from one of Holt's colleagues, "If we taught children to speak, they'd never learn." Children will learn what they need to learn, but in their own time, and on their own terms. If they prefer to play, let them play. This was the policy of Alexander Neill in his Summerhill school in England. We must let kids be kids. What is the hurry to run them through an assembly-line schooling system where their curiosity and creativity are destroyed, and replaced with the timidity of a whipped pup?
I have the same endorsement for Holt's other book, "How Children Fail".

12 people found this helpful13 people found this helpful

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1.5 Trick Pony

A classic for a reason - just as fresh and inspirational now!

January 22, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Many books on psychology or learning become dated very quickly with new advances in knowledge; this book is not one of them. From what I picked up in this book and in "How Children Fail", the author John Holt was a teacher who took a year to observe children and how they learn, from close observation at home and in school.

The key premises. What he found is that the way children learn is wildly different from how we (as adults in charge of their learning) believe it works. He found that children start out keen for knowledge and learning, and learn by constantly sifting through the chaos for threads, and then they test different theories about how things work. They learn through tactile experience, through patient experimentation, they want to know and to understand, and often show far more advanced capabilities than they are given credit for. However, the way schools are set up does not align with how they learn, and often stifles the wonder and joy for learning, in favor of shame, anxiety, pleasing people in authority, and learning how to cheat (on purpose or through interpreting nonverbal clues given by teachers/parents) and game the system.

This book focuses much more on the wonder and joy of learning (How Children Fail focuses more on the school part), and is really inspirational, and the reader can gain some really good practical tips about how to deal with children. The book is set up as almost a journal - at first Holt records his observations, without all that much interpretation, and then he starts analyzing. It's a really natural way for us as readers in turn to learn, and his conclusions then have the impact of "yes this is it!" because we walked the path along with him, and "saw" these children and how they act. I have been surprised by how much I have thought about this book since finishing it, and how often his observations float to the surface of my brain, especially when dealing with children, but also when dealing with adults and when observing myself.

Note that there are some dated references (like to a typewriter) and some of the adult-child interactions pluck at current sensibilities oddly (like the game that one little child invented and played with him where they "spanked" him and he play-cried). But that was another era with different rules, and the book continues to be powerful and feel relevant today.

11 people found this helpful12 people found this helpful

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Sarah

A challenging, insightful, and beautiful book.

July 1, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book will take time to read if you are truly interested in what Holt has to say. I had to stop, go away, disagree, rethink, watch my own children, come back, read certain parts with new eyes, be inspired, connect his words with my own schooling experience, and finish it deeply moved and inspired. We are a new homeschooling family - will we be unschoolers? I'm not sure. But, without a doubt, I will give them as much freedom to learn and be the people they are that I, as the parent, can comfortably bear. Very thankful for this book.

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