Reasons for Children's Failures. Why Smart Kids Struggle in School and How to Help Them

John Holt (1923–1985) was one of the most influential educators of the 20th century, the creator of alternative teaching methods. He believed that modern school education does not reveal all of a child's abilities and diminishes their desire to explore... something new.

When entering an average school, a child is required to fit into certain frameworks: to give standard answers, to be interested only in what is appropriate for their age, and, most importantly, to write endless tests. Children see no point in developing their thinking and strive solely for approval from adults.

In this book, John Holt shares how children “play” at learning in school, what strategies they use to manipulate adults, and how they blindly strive for grades just for the sake of it.

You will learn:
– how to restore a child's innate thirst for knowledge;
– why children forget material learned after taking a test;
– how to use children's logic for learning in elementary school;
– what teachers should not do in the classroom and what parents should do at home;
– how to teach a child that a mistake is not a failure, but another step toward discoveries.