1) John Holt. Despite (because of?) his experiences as a teacher and lecturer, John Holt became the leading spokesman for the home schooling movement in the US, publishing a magazine called Growing without Schooling for parents teaching their children at home. It was his books, How Children Learn
and How Children Fail
that first introduced me to the idea of home education while doing a maths PGCE in the early 1990s. They talk about how learning is a natural state, and teaching isn’t, and they’re really incredibly persuasive. I’ve since gathered as many of his books as I can get my hands on, though I’ve still not read Never Too Late: My Musical Life Story
and I must.
2) Free Range Education: How Home Education Works
edited by Terri Dowty, is a book that gives an insight into a whole variety of different ways of approaching home education. It’s a great book for sharing with family and friends who might not be quite sure about how the whole thing is going to work, and although it’s hard to get your hands on a copy, it’s well worth it.
3) John Taylor Gatto taught in New York for 30 years, and was even New York State teacher of the year. His classic, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
is a real eye opener as to what is going on in the school system that no one wants you to think about. Education *isn’t* about the individual child or their achievements.
4) The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education
is aimed squarely at teenagers, and while the chapter on legalities is probably rather outdated, and definitely very US centric, the attitude of being in control of their own education is one that I think every teenager could benefit from.
5) Ross Mountney is an UK home educator and her book A Funny Kind of Education
is about her experience with children who just weren’t thriving in school, something far too common at the moment it seems. This is a warm and honest account of day to day life in a newly converted home educated household, and it’s lovely to read. Ross also has a website that’s worth a visit.
6&7) Particularly for parents of younger children, works by and about Charlotte Mason
and Maria Montessori
are well worth a look. Two completely different systems of educating, that might give some ideas on what to do on that first monday morning without school.
Of course, there are plenty of online resources for home education, including this and many other blogs. But sometimes, a book is what you need 😉 Have I missed out your absolute favourite? Let me know in the comments 🙂
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