Recommended Books

Education/pedagogy.....Virginia's recommendations

Freedom to Learn

Carl Rogers

The following is a quote from the Amazon site, if you are only going to read one book or one author on child-centered education it should be Carl Rogers, and it should be this book.

'This is the text that championed a revolutionary approach to education that changed the way we teach our children. Now, in the Third Edition, it's challenging the status quo with twenty years of evidence that defies current thinking. Five exciting new chapters focus on issues of importance now and in the future--learning from children who love school; researching person-centered issues in education; developing the administrator's role as a facilitator; building discipline and classroom management with the learner; and person-centered views of transforming schools. Freedom to Learn, Third Edition is written in the first person, with two goals in mind--to aid the development of the minds of children and young persons, and to encourage the kinds of adventurous enterprises being carried out daily by dedicated, caring teachers in creative classrooms and supportive schools throughout the nation.'

Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century

Howard Gardener

The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach

Howard Gardener

Gardner says that our job is to help children become who they are supposed to be, not what we think they should be. Howard Gardner is a professor at Harvard who has looked at the different types of human intelligence for many years. His research is very useful when designing curriculum and looking at how people learn.

Bad Guys Don't Have Birthdays: Fantasy Play At Four

Vivien Gussin Paley

A retired kindergarten teacher from the States who has written several books on play and imagination. Anecdotal and chatty.

The Power of Play

David Elkind

The importance of play at all stages of development. Also, why a child needs unstructured time.

Freedom and Beyond

John Holt

There are several important books written by Holt. He started the 'unschooling' movement in the U.S. His main contention is that learning takes place naturally and children should be trusted to learn, school is often an anti-thesis to learning.

Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing

A.S.Neill

Everyone should know this educator and his theories. When I was 13 I fell in love with this man and his school and I think that he has a lot to teach us about valuing children.

Theories of Childhood: An Intro to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget and Vigotsky

Carol G. Mooney

These are the theorists that may be the most influential in educational theory. I am particularly fond of Vigotsky and Piaget.

The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self

Alice Miller

This can be a difficult book, but an enlightening one which can bring one to a new understanding of emotions and emotional reactions.

Effective Communication and conflict resolution

Parent Effectiveness Training

Thomas Gordon

How to listen and speak to children in an effective and respectful manner.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk

Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlish

Effective communication style that allows children to express their feelings. This is a very useful book if you find that you don't know how to keep from imposing your views on your child (we all tend to do this) It is effective in communicating with anyone.

Between Parent and Child: The Bestselling Classic That Revolutionized Communication

Dr. Halm Ginott

This book was published in 1965 and might seem a bit simplistic, but the suggestions on how to communicate and how to use reflective listening are excellent.

Siblings Without Rivalry

Adele Faber, Elane Mazlish

Schooling

Deschooling Our Lives

Matt Hern

We are all responsible for our own learning. What happens when people reject the state school system? This book looks at a variety of models.

Alternative schools, other's experiences.....Polly's recommendations

The Lives of Children, The Story of the First Street School George Dennison

Making it Up as we go along, The Story of the Albany Free School Chris Mercogliano