Wounded by School: Recapturing the Joy in Learning and Standing Up to Old School Culture
Kirsten Olson's book is refreshingly unlike the general run of sludge I associate with writing about pedagogy: It seems to be entirely free of the familiar platitudes which replace thought when we read about school matters, is scrubbed clean of pretentious jargon, and offers up the twists and turns of Olson's analysis and citations with beautiful clarity. I can't imagine anyone not being better for reading this book Twice! --John Taylor Gatto, Author,Dumbing Us DownKirsten Olson portrays the realities of modern schooling more vividly and convincingly than anyone since the prophetic school critic John Holt. Through her sensitive interviewing and insightful analysis, Olson demonstrates exactly why this obsolete industrial-age institution is damaging to authentic human development. Policymakers, administrators and parents who have largely ignored the impassioned pleas of critics, homeschoolers and alternative educators for the past forty years need to read Wounded by School because this time they'll get it. We need to replace industrial schooling with more genuinely caring and humane ways of teaching, and Olson clearly shows us why and how to do it. --Ron Miller, Editor,Education RevolutionMagazineKirsten Olson portrays the realities of modern schooling more vividly and convincingly than anyone since the prophetic school critic John Holt. Through her sensitive interviewing and insightful analysis, Olson demonstrates exactly why this obsolete industrial-age institution is damaging to authentic human development. Policymakers, administrators and parents who have largely ignored the impassioned pleas of critics, homeschoolers and alternative educators for the past forty years need to read Wounded by School because this time they'll get it. We need to replace industrial schooling with more genuinely caring and humane ways of teaching, and Olson clearly shows us why and how to do it. --Ron Miller, Editor,Education RevolutionMagazineKirsten Olson portrays the realities of modern schooling more vividly and convincingly than anyone since the prophetic school critic John Holt. Through her sensitive interviewing and insightful analysis, Olson demonstrates exactly why this obsolete industrial-age institution is damaging to authentic human development. Policymakers, administrators and parents who have largely ignored the impassioned pleas of critics, homeschoolers and alternative educators for the past forty years need to read Wounded by School because this time they'll get it. We need to replace industrial schooling with more genuinely caring and humane ways of teaching, and Olson clearly shows us why and how to do it. --Ron Miller, Editor,Education RevolutionMagazine