I Love Learning I Hate School

Frustrated by her students’ performance, her relationships with them, and her own daughter’s problems in school, Susan D. Blum, a professor of anthropology, set out to understand why her students found their educational experience at a top-tier institution so profoundly difficult and unsatisfying. Through her research and in conversations with her students, she discovered a troubling mismatch between the goals of the university and the needs of students. In "I Love Learning; I Hate School," Blum tells two intertwined but inseparable stories: the results of her research into how students learn contrasted with the way conventional education works, and the personal narrative of how she herself was transformed by this understanding. Blum concludes that the dominant forms of higher education do not match the myriad forms of learning that help students—people in general—master meaningful and worthwhile skills and knowledge. Students are capable of learning huge amounts, but the ways higher education is structured often leads them to fail to learn. More than that, it leads to ill effects. In this critique of higher education, infused with anthropological insights, Blum explains why so much is going wrong and offers suggestions for how to bring classroom learning more in line with appropriate forms of engagement. She challenges our system of education and argues for a "reintegration of learning with life."

Some students enter classrooms with an “I dare you try to teach me” look on their faces, and others bounce into class excited to learn and anxious to please the teacher. We know we can’t automatically blame teachers or schools when students don’t want to learn. But we also know that sometimes teachers and schools don’t always set students up for success, and they don’t always help them love what they’re learning. Why Kids Love (and Hate) School: Reflections on Practice investigates some of the school and classroom practices that help students love school—and some that send students in the opposite direction. Intended for classroom teachers, teacher education students, and school administrators, chapters in the book investigate a variety of topics: how schools can build effective school cultures, the “struggle” students encounter in learning, practices of other countries that help students love school, testing practices that cause students to hate school—and much more. Perfect for courses in: Introduction to Education, General Methods, Management/Assessment, Educational Research, Educational Administration/Leadership, Teacher Leadership, Curriculum Theory, Curriculum Development.

Includes tips for home schoolers.What do you do when your child hates school?When little Sarah cries herself to sleep at night, when Johnny has tummy aches in the morning, something is clearly wrong. An occasional problem at school is one thing. But what do you do when school is the problem? When your child hates school because school doesn’t like your child, you’ve got to act. Don’t let a one-size-fits-all educational system steal the joys and riches of learning from your son or daughter. Your child is unique, with a personal learning style that needs to be understood and respected. In this groundbreaking book, learning expert Cynthia Ulrich Tobias shows how you can work with your child’s school and teachers to tailor an education your child will love, not hate. Here are practical ways to craft an approach that draws out your son or daughter’s giftedness and minimizes the things that frustrate.Filled with practical applications and insights as commonsense as they are revolutionary, I Hate School includes a Learning Styles Profile Summary on which to base your plans and actions. So don’t waste time. Today, starting now, you can take steps toward an education for your child that will replace the words “I hate school” with “Is it time to go to school yet?”

Easy-to-apply, scientifically-based approaches for engaging students in the classroom Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham focuses his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning. His book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn. It reveals-the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences. Nine, easy-to-understand principles with clear applications for the classroom Includes surprising findings, such as that intelligence is malleable, and that you cannot develop "thinking skills" without facts How an understanding of the brain's workings can help teachers hone their teaching skills "Mr. Willingham's answers apply just as well outside the classroom. Corporate trainers, marketers and, not least, parents -anyone who cares about how we learn-should find his book valuable reading." —Wall Street Journal

A new approach to help kids with ADHD and LD succeed in and outside the classroom This groundbreaking book addresses the consequences of the unabated stress associated with Learning disabilities and ADHD and the toxic, deleterious impact of this stress on kids' academic learning, social skills, behavior, and efficient brain functioning. Schultz draws upon three decades of work as a neuropsychologist, teacher educator, and school consultant to address this gap. This book can help change the way parents and teachers think about why kids with LD and ADHD find school and homework so toxic. It will also offer an abundant supply of practical, understandable strategies that have been shown to reduce stress at school and at home. Offers a new way to look at why kids with ADHD/LD struggle at school Provides effective strategies to reduce stress in kids with ADHD and LD Includes helpful rating scales, checklists, and printable charts to use at school and home This important resource is written by a faculty member of Harvard Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry and former classroom teacher.

In this revolutionary book, a renowned computer scientist explains the importance of teaching children the basics of computing and how it can prepare them to succeed in the ever-evolving tech world. Computers have completely changed the way we teach children. We have Mindstorms to thank for that. In this book, pioneering computer scientist Seymour Papert uses the invention of LOGO, the first child-friendly programming language, to make the case for the value of teaching children with computers. Papert argues that children are more than capable of mastering computers, and that teaching computational processes like de-bugging in the classroom can change the way we learn everything else. He also shows that schools saturated with technology can actually improve socialization and interaction among students and between students and teachers. Technology changes every day, but the basic ways that computers can help us learn remain. For thousands of teachers and parents who have sought creative ways to help children learn with computers, Mindstorms is their bible.

Arguing against the tougher standards rhetoric that marks the current education debate, the author of No Contest and Punished by Rewards writes that such tactics squeeze the pleasure out of learning. Reprint.

Combining current knowledge of what works in teaching and learning with the most enduring philosophies of classical education, this book challenges readers to develop the skills, attitudes, knowledge, and habits of mind of strong writers.