
Blum's latest book is Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning.
[The Page 99 Test: Schoolishness]
At Shepherd she tagged five of the best books that shake up conventional views of school, including:
The Book of Learning and Forgetting by Frank SmithRead about the other entries on the list.
I love this book because Frank Smith, with the forgettable name, dares to point out the unmentionable: students forget almost everything theylearn in school, at least the things they learn through coercion. I love the way he takes on all the orthodoxies about the necessity of teachers and schools, and instead shows the absolutely breathtaking learning that happens through connections with others in meaningful contexts.
I love his use of language learning as an exemplar of how learning works, because we anthropologists know so much about how it really occurs, without direct instruction, and through meaningful interaction with others, and it is so contrary to widely held, erroneous beliefs.
I love books like this, which take on received wisdom, especially when written beautifully and accessibleibly—and in just about a hundred pages.
--Marshal Zeringue