I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
5 Books That Influenced Me To Homeschool
Since it’s a common known fact that I’m a book worm and that my used book love knows no bounds I wanted to share a few of my favorites. The books that have a special place on the shelves and that I turn to over and over again. I’ve been emailing back and forth with a friend who is thinking of pulling her son out of school this summer, so homeschooling is on my mind. So I thought I’d share here what I shared with her: the 5 books I read that helped to seal the deal on homeschooling.
In no particular order:
How Children Fail – John Holt – Honestly, I’d say read every one of Holt’s books. They are all pretty damn enlightening and thought provoking. But if you have to nail it down to one, start with How Children Fail first. What’s great is that it’s a book by a teacher that gives a pretty clear look into the classroom. There’s no rose colored glasses or little lies meant to make school seem like these magical places. It’s a frighteningly honest look into the classroom, into standardized teaching, and how it doesn’t work for all kids.
Dumbing Us Down – John Gatto – Another favorite of mine by another teacher that shares the real life, nitty gritty of the classroom. You can’t read this book and not be afraid of what your kids are really learning. Is it learning how to be good citizens or mindless cogs repeating back what they’ve been told without the ability to think for themselves. You can get a good taste for Dumbing Us Down by reading Gatto’s The 7 Lesson School Teacher online.
Punished By Rewards – Alfie Kohn – Alfie Kohn is one of my favorite authors on parenting and kids. This book takes on the gold stars, pizza parties, rainbow erasers, and all the other little rewards and treats that teachers frequently pass out to students to get them to work. The basic premise is simple: If you teach kids to only work for rewards they will never learn to work for themselves. It pits internal motivation against external motivation and shows that the latter doesn’t really get us the results we want. I want my kids to read because they love it, not because they get a pizza coupon after so many books.
Lies My Teacher Told Me – James Loewen – After reading Lies My Teacher Told Me I literally wanted to throw up. It’s pretty well known that history is sugar coated in school (can you say Thanksgiving?), but finding out exactly how much kids are lied to in the name of patriotism is disturbing. This book puts 12 of the most used history books against reality and shows you just how much they don’t stack up. Things I was taught in school are so beyond fictionalized it is pathetic. And the most common reason is to make kids proud of the US and to promote a pro-white European, pro-American side of history. It’s just propaganda.
Last Child In the Woods – Richard Louv – This book just made clear a point I already had a sinking suspicion of. Kids in school are trapped inside brick bubbles while the world is disappearing outside. How sad that kids spend weeks learning about the rain forest but can’t name the trees growing in their own backyards. Or that for many the closest they come to nature is on the dissection table. Kids are locked off from the sky, the grass, the trees, and the animals for most of their lives. So when do they get a chance to fall in love with nature?
I can’t guarantee that after reading these five books you’ll be completely sold on homeschooling, after all I was already predisposed to it before I picked up any of them. But they will certainly make you look at the current school system with new eyes. And chances are you might not like what you see, even if you live where there are supposed “good schools”. Maybe especially if you live in a place where high test scores are held up as something to be proud of.
Last Child in the Woods is amazing. I think that should be required reading for parenting. I was so upset that the author was in my town last Fall and I didn’t get to go. It was announced and I immediately tried to get tickets and it was sold out lightening fast.Bummer.
Jupiter\´s last blog post..But E eats everything Yeah, E eats everything
Reading stuff like this, it would almost seem like a crime *not* to homeschool. I often think, if I were in a situation where I couldn’t homeschool for some reason, how guilty I would feel, knowing what I know about how things work in and out of school.
Lydia\´s last blog post..First Bike Race of the Season
I’ll have to acquire the last 2 – good reading I haven’t heard of. Otherwise, you can’t go wrong with Holt, Gatto or Kohn. Like Lydia says, it would almost seem like a crime not to homeschool after reading this stuff.
Arp\´s last blog post..A quick rundown of what we saw at the beach
I’ve just made the decision to homeschool, starting in the fall. Thank you for these book recommendations. I’d like to check them out.
Right now, I’m reading, Homeschooling: Take A Deep Breath, You Can Do This. By Terrie Lynn Bittner
Very informative.
AmyG\´s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday (black & white edition)
These are great books to have and read. It really does start to feel like a crime to send kids to school after reading about them more.