Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I really wanted to like this book. But even after reading it a few time, I still find this book deeply flawed. To begin with, she took the content of an article and tried to make a book. It is thus poorly written, redundant, repetitive, and boring. More importantly, while I commend her for bringing focus to self-directed learning, her approach is problematic. By creating a "work space" and making "representations" of learning the focus, she feeds capital, not learning. By trying to create a culture of "meaningful work," she devalues everything else. Learning and meaningful experiences happen at almost every moment. Learning isn't about "representations,” it’s about being able to make new moves in life based on new knowledge. The evidence is in the living, not in the making. Products aren't real symbols of learning. Furthermore, by valuing "work" through projects and representations, this author devalues the place of thought and reading without purpose - of contemplation without product or direction. Reading for projects isn't more valuable than reading for fun. Project work is only more valuable if you devalue all other individual interests. As Homeschool educators, I hope we see ourselves as facilitators of ALL interests and opportunities for learning. By drawing a distinction between "work" and "play," she furthers a problematic conceptual framework that actually ignores real learning. In play, in flow, we fall into that magical place where we are connected, engaged, a part of something larger than ourselves, and in there, real learning, real connections are made. You can't force flow or play, it just happens. It happens while playing with dolls, Legos, or while playing with words. Sometimes we even need the random. This author counsels to not take random field trips, to try to facilitate connections by grouping experiences. As any experienced thinker knows, sometimes the random is where the “ah ha” moments are. You can’t predict or construct the connections. They just happen. They can't be forced, and sometimes something totally unrelated and random is what is needed to open up the necessary perspective to make a new connection. Learning happens. It happens every moment. It’s what you do with those experiences that matters, but it’s gravely mistaken to think you need to produce or act for there to be real learning. In fact, this demand for representations shows a lack of trust in the learning process itself. Learners don’t have to be trained animals that produce or show signs. Only a capitalist, factory model of schooling requires this. As home educators, we can free ourselves from such demands and allow children to explore and imagine without demands that create limits. Let them freely “write” plays while they imaginative play with other kids. Why sit them down and write it out? That constipates flow, destroys the imaginative, and puts real constraining limits on the possible. If you value self-directed learning, then free the learning. Let children be free to learn. Create a culture that values learning through freedom and choice, not through meaningful work.