Book Review: How Children Learn by John Holt

So I've finally finished How Children Learn by John Holt.  

I really wanted to love this book.  So many homeschoolers sing the praises of John Holt, like a homeschooling guru.  I had so much hope for this book.  

And I hated it.

Not the content so much.  It was kinda interesting to read his perspective on things.

But the format was so fucking annoying to me.  

And maybe it's my dyslexia rearing it's ugly head.  Maybe I found it difficult to read because of how he formats things like a diary.  Maybe I just don't care to read other people's journals...

Any of those things are an option.

But Honestly I found it so hard to get through the entire book that I was focused on the difficultness and really can't speak much to the actual book.  

I don't remember what I've read.  And to me that is a sign of a badly written book.  

I take that back.  I do remember that he stresses that children are natural learners who don't need abstract concepts to learn.  They need concrete reality.  And I agree with that.  

But that's what I took away from the book.  And while that is an awesome take away, I already knew that.  That was already something I believed. So really it was no help to me.

And I'm so sad about this.  I wanted to read this book and give it to my husband as a book to help him understand why I think homeschooling is the best option for us.  

But this was not the book for me.  

I encourage you to still check it out!  I mean, perhaps you can read these diary style entries and find them easier to follow.