A study of a wide range of different educational problems and possible solutions, including:
How do we learn?
Why do people struggle in various stages of education?
Why don't people develop through their education?
What is the relationship of sensitive mothering to development?
What are the major theories of child development?
Home school vs school; what's the difference?
Nature, nurture and child psychology
Getting over the articulation gap
I've taught in a lot of different environments, to a lot of different learners. From teaching basic English conjunctions to scuba diving rescue patterns, it's been a complex journey through what we think of as teaching.
What I've learned is that we're failing students, all over the world. That's not a new thought, but perhaps by properly appreciating the problem we can come to the solution.
The first great lesson is: interest is everything. In order to teach or learn, you have to be interested and engaged. Without those two, then the form of your instruction is irrelevant. This is the insight that led to things like Montessori schools, and more recently to the trend of Unschooling.
Contained here are a variety of essays covering thoughts on schooling and education from childhood to adult education, and how we can change things towards a more effective learning environment.