Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America's Schools
Author: Tom Little and Katherine Ellison
Length: 256 pages
Intent/Focus: To describe a home-grown solution for truly progressive education in America
What You Will Learn: How 43 progressive schools across the country develop enthusiastic lifelong learners, by allowing their curricula to grow organically from the students’ questions and interests.
Why We Recommend It: As Elena Aguilar, a writer for Edutopia said, this book will “nurture your educator spirit” and renew hope for our educational system by providing concrete examples of successful American schools, offering child-centered learning.
Summary:
The subject of today’s book review, Loving Learning: How Progressive Education Can Save America's Schools, comes to us from noted educator Tom Little and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Katherine Ellison. Mr. Little, who died last year, just weeks before the book was published, believed that American schools can prepare students (and thus our country) for a vibrant future in the arts and sciences, by applying the philosophies of progressive education. Loving Learning, which Edutopia referred to as a “must-read for all educators,” is Mr. Little’s life work, a description of his findings as he toured progressive schools across the U.S.
The book includes a history of progressive education and ultimately offers a definition: "Progressive education prepares students for active participation in a democratic society, in the context of a child-centered environment, and with an enduring commitment to social justice." Saying, "Can we please stop talking about Finland?" the book makes the case for better education in America, by providing examples from U.S. classrooms in which children are evolving into lifelong learners, as well as good citizens.
Loving Learning also advocates experiential learning, showing how students apply imagination, practicality and multi-discipline information in activities such as a "Mini-Maker Faire" or designing and building a chair from scratch. With experiential, or project-based learning, the authors assert that students are more likely to absorb information and develop new skills because they understand the context and relevance of the information and they are more motivated to achieve results.
Core strategies promoted by this book include:
- Attention to children's emotions as well as their intellects
- Reliance on students' interests to guide their learning
- Curtailment of testing, grading and ranking
- Involvement of students in real-world endeavors
- Integration of subjects and topics, from a variety of disciplines
- Development of children with a sense of social justice and a desire for active participation in America's democracy
Reviews
The many 5-star reader reviews on Amazon provide feedback such as, “This is an excellent book, full of wisdom,” and, “At last, a primer on how to educate instead of train students!”
In her Edutopia review, Elena Aguilar writes: “Teachers, administrators, and parents: These are the stories that we need so that we can remember what is possible within school walls.” She loved the uplifting, inspiring nature of the book and quoted activist, Pete Seeger, who said, "The key to the future of the world is finding the hopeful stories and letting them be known."
About the Authors
Tom Little served as head of Oakland, California's Park Day School for 27 years. A national leader in Progressive Education, he co-founded the Progressive Education Network.
Katherine Ellison is a Pulitzer Prize-winning former foreign correspondent and the author of seven books, including The Mommy Brain: How Motherhood Makes You Smarter and Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention.
Related Article: The Benefits of Experiential Learning
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