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Right then, home educators...what books inspire you?

26 replies

FillyjonktheSnibbet · 23/05/2006 20:40

When you've had a long, claustrophobic day and need to get back on track.

I'm going to say: John Holt. And when I've finished saying John Holt, for I am a bit of a john holt fan, I'm going to add

Gareth Edwards-1 to 1
Deborah Jackson-letting go as children grow
And books on adults who are massively enthusiastic about their subject. I love love love anything by Richard Feynman, though 6 easy pieces is a misleading title.

Anyone read "homeschooling for excellence" or "punished by rewards" btw?

(and just so you know, the campers have about 10 times as many threads as us, we are lagging badly)

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spacedonkey · 23/05/2006 20:41

ivan illich!

John Holt is my hero

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FillyjonktheSnibbet · 23/05/2006 20:43

no! I saw him first!

whats ivan illich like?

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spacedonkey · 23/05/2006 20:44

Illich wrote "Deschooling Society" - v good - but not as good as John

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FillyjonktheSnibbet · 23/05/2006 20:55

ahhhh.

actually i need to read illich.

i wonder what holt would have been writing today? he was also way ahead of his time on environmental stuff and children's rights.

i like escape from childhood. he argues that children should be offered full citizenship with all the rights and responsibilities that go with it. very interesting.

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nannyme · 23/05/2006 22:31

Lol at the camping thread competition.

I had a freebie to add to the freebie thread but I was too late as it was only relevant to 23rd May, doh!

Can you believe - I still haven't read any Holt?!
tut tut...

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FillyjonktheSnibbet · 23/05/2006 23:13

nannyme

to the naughty corner with you for....minutes times your age

john holt is great, especially if, like me, you are hugely nostalgic for sixties optomism.

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spacedonkey · 23/05/2006 23:15

my favourite of his books - and I love them all - is "Never Too Late"

what a lovely man he was

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nannyme · 23/05/2006 23:19

I tend to spend so much time reading stuff for work on children/behavioural issues, and then fitting in my own leisure reading that, oops, reading up on home ed stuff gets kind of overlooked!

Still dipping in and out of my education otherwise material but every time it gets good I hit some anecdotal stuff about how shite school is.

I think schools are pretty dire places but I don't like the 'we can find NOTHING good to say about schools so we'll just slag, slag, slag them off' approach tbh.

I hate the anarchy feel that comes with some of the reading I do on Home Ed so I get put off...

John Holt has been recommended many times to me so I must go and buy myself some.

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nannyme · 23/05/2006 23:21

Yikes!

I just scored 'camping' more points by posting on there!

Rally round HEers, rally round!!

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FillyjonktheSnibbet · 24/05/2006 08:05

ah don't worrry, sd, I think I've actually started at least two of the camping threads myself.

Am wondering if the problem is actually that there are more campers and that they are possibly more enthusiastic than us. But still, we must maintain appearances.

Never too late is one of my favourites, I also like escape from childhood. And after that, i suppose, all if them.

Nannyme-kind of know what you mean...I do like anarchy but find the smugness bloody irritating..HE has is downsides like anything else.

Are you going for a more structured approachm then? If so, you probably should read john holt, as otherwise people will quote him at you!

oh, my other inspiration is the 12 early issues of GWS magazines that I have in bound format

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FrannyandZooey · 24/05/2006 08:08

"Skellig" by David Almond has a lovely fictional depiction of a home-educated child. I will have a look for non-fiction titles later - can't remember all authors' names etc.

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FillyjonktheSnibbet · 24/05/2006 08:16

I do like Skellig.

It was recommended in the EO newsletter...

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nannyme · 24/05/2006 10:54

Just bought some John Holt off ebay and will make time to read!

We are doing utterly unstructured at the moment. Every time I bring the fun but structured activities the nervousness is tangible.

We are making progress nevertheless, which is inspiring Smile

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FillyjonktheSnibbet · 24/05/2006 16:08

if you are feeling nervous, i think the best book is "how children learn". or maybe a little john taylor gatto?

I go through phases of thinking wtf am i doing, wtf, wtf..,my way of coping is to read he blogs. i like the muddlepuddle one, or theres loads more.

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redshoes · 05/07/2006 20:47

I have just read 'Free Range Education' edited by Terri Dowty which is an inspiring collection of HEers personal approaches/experiences. I haven't taken the plunge yet though!

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dottyspots · 06/07/2006 10:21

Home Educating Our Autistic Spectrum Children (Paths are Made by Walking) - I cried so much when I read this book and it was the catalyst to us pulling the boys out of school.

As it is, over 3 years later, my eldest will hopefully be going to a local Special School - a looooong story, suffice to say that he has behavioural issues and it's got to the end of the road for us we can't cope with him atm and need some support.

However, whilst that may sound like we've had a negative experience, what has actually resulted from it is that we don't intend to ever send our youngest two to mainstream school and my husband (who was initially very sceptical) is also committed to our youngest being HE-ed.

I've been working on a project to open a 'learning centre' (open to all families, HE-ed and schooled which will enable parents/carers to learn alongside their children, where normally they're split up) and am pushing now to take this forward. I'm planning for the centre to offer classes in things like drama, dance, yoga, etc. but also maybe some language classes, a fun science club, etc. Families can then choose what they want to do.

Locally there isn't much of a support network for HE-ers - we have to travel to the nearest city for that - and I'd like to get some more 'group' things set up ready for when my youngest children 'come of age' (and that will also accept me bringing multi-age children with me - yep, I've had another "I'm sorry but our insurance doesn't cover you attending with a baby" moments this morning ).

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onlinemum · 06/07/2006 23:36

I'm dipping in and out of And the Skylark Sings with Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and Community-based Education at the moment. It's pretty good. Lots of my other faves already recommended in the thread below.

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maverick · 07/07/2006 16:13

The well Trained Mind: a Guide to Classical Education at Home by Jessie Wise and Susan Bauer, published by Norton.

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aviatrix · 20/08/2006 22:25

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FillyjonktheFluffy · 08/09/2006 20:51

avatrix-are you sure there is no local HE community? Often these things are not much publicised, even through the EO websites. A lot of HE'rs do not belong to EO anyway. Where are you?

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Runnerbean · 09/09/2006 00:04

Free Range Education -Definitely! Fab book to read as it answered all the doubts I had when I first took the plunge.
But it was John Holt who first inspired me.

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FillyjonktheFluffy · 09/09/2006 10:37

actually, I must confess that free range education nearly put me off...it was a bit too smug for my liking.... Have long since given my book away...

must get "punished by rewards" though

have just read a book by that jan fortune wood woman and wanted to burn it. I still may burn it.

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juuule · 10/09/2006 11:28

Anything by John Holt.
Doing It Their Way Jan Fortune Wood
One-to-One Gareth Lewis
Unqualified Education Gareth Lewis
The Unschooling Handbook Mary Griffiths
Homeschooling: The Early Years Linda Dobson

Have just bought Punished by Rewards Alfie Kohn and am about to start reading it. I am also fascinated by a lot of the articles he has written which can be found here

Filyjonk - which Jan Fortune Wood book did you read? I enjoyed reading Doing it their Way.

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aviatrix · 15/09/2006 17:24

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redshoes · 16/09/2006 22:39

Fillyjonk, I thought Free Range Education quite inspiring - it did slightly put me off too in that it gave me the impression that HE kids were all ones who couldn't fit in to school (rather than wouldn't)

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