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A fresh and exciting personal approach to the inevitable and urgently needed revolution in education, which demolishes the one-size-fits-all, industrialized model of processing and warehousing students and creates a community-based, individualized learning society accommodating learners of all ages, interests, abilities and styles. This book discusses why progressively-minded parents might not want to send their children to school...and describes the democratic, life-affirming, academically and socially beneficial alternative. "Our outdated assumptions about how children learn are crippling both our young people and our collective well-being. Only by challenging these assumptions will be able to replace a system that is not relevant to the lives of todays young people. We must give up on the hierarchical, coercive, industrial model of education whether it looks like a public school, a charter school, a private school or a home school because it impedes learning and enslaves children. Then we need to create opportunities and infrastructures that respect children, help them learn, and equip them to meet the immense economic, social and environmental challenges of this century." Wendy Priesnitz About the Author: Author Blog Author Bio
Reviews: "I strongly urge every parent (even if they are not home educating...yet) to read this book. Read this book! If you are a parent, you simply must. What I especially appreciated is that Ms. Priesnitz does not simply yammer on about what all the problems are (which many authors seem to do and I've even been guilty of myself in certain social networks..eh..hem...) but she offers solid suggestions for real solutions, even beyond home education. Because while math and spelling are indeed vital to intellectual growth, it truly is about more than academics. It's about the way we process children. Read this book!" - Laurette Lynn, The Unplugged Mom, 2010 "This little gem answers all of the questions I have been asked over the years…including questions I have asked myself during those panicky moments of doubt....Pointing out the problems that exist within our current model of education is one thing. Offering solutions – concrete, tangible approaches to fixing the educational system – is another and Priesnitz offers a multitude of ways we can do this. Most of these ideas require a fundamental shift in how we view the learning process. Through her gentle approach, though, each seems doable and – more importantly – vital if we wish to revitalize our children’s innate passions and desires to learn....There are so many important thoughts and ideas presented here – highlighting one or two is a true disservice to the reader." - Beth Balmanno, Parenting at the Helm, 2011 Testimonials: “Thank you so much for your brilliant book. You have spoken so clearly and directly to the heart of the matter of children learning in and from the world. You have managed to relate the whole of the matter in a real and understandable way… In answer to your challenge to find ways to put your words into action: It might just have to happen one person, one family, one small community at a time. I never miss an opportunity, nor do my children, to invite people to challenge the assumptions in education. I ride a roller coaster. Some days I am clear that the path we are on is well chosen. Other days I despair. It seems an insurmountable task to overcome the effects of a world educated by the system, but I will carry your book on that path .” - Annie B, a reader The Assumptions
Read:
"An excerpt from Challenging Assumptions in Education.
softcover $24.95; e-book $14.95 (plus shipping & tax where
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Natural Life Books specializes in adult non-fiction about ways that families and individuals can live and learn on Planet Earth in a healthy, socially responsible, environmentally sound, self-reliant manner. We are the retail division of The Alternate Press, an imprint of Life Media, an independent, family-owned book and magazine publishing house established in 1976. We are proud to publish some of the most progressive books and other information products about homeschooling and life learning (also known as unschooling) in the world. Read our Sustainability Statement Learn about our E-Book editions Purchase our books now. |