To a very great degree, school is a place where children learn to be stupid. — John Holt Copy Share Image
“It is not possible to spend any prolonged period visiting public school classrooms without being appalled by the mutilation visible everywhere—mutilation of… — John Holt Copy Share Image
It's not that I feel that school is a good idea gone wrong, but a wrong idea from the word go. It's… — John Holt Copy Share Image
“When children are very young, they have natural curiosities about the world and explore them, trying diligently to figure out what is real. As… — John Holt Copy Share Image
The idea of painless, nonthreatening coercion is an illusion. Fear is the inseparable companion of coercion, and its inescapable consequence. If you think it… — John Holt Copy Share Image
“Fear, boredom, and resistance--they all go to make what we call stupid children.” — John Holt Copy Share Image
Schools assume that children are not interested in learning and are not much good at it, that they will not learn unless made to,… — John Holt Copy Share Image
“John, if you ever get a family, there’s one thing you should know. No matter how well you get along with your children when… — John Holt Copy Share Image
It is hard not to feel that there must be something very wrong with much of what we do in school, if we feel… — John Holt Copy Share Image
“Why do they do this? Because it gives them a license to act like tyrants and to feel like saints. “Do what I tell… — John Holt Copy Share Image
Since we can't know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead,… — John Holt Copy Share Image
“Leaders are not, as we are often led to think, people who go along with huge crowds following them. Leaders are people who go… — John Holt Copy Share Image
