Astral Codex Ten

How Children Fail

5 min read

How Children Fail

Article

How Children Fail is a recurring book in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 3 times across 3 issues between June 11, 2021 and July 10, 2021. The archive places it in contexts such as “He collected the memos and essays he wrote that year into a book, How Children Fail”; “How Children Fail was published sixty years ago”; “the finalists are: 16: How Children Fail”. It most often appears alongside Addiction By Design, Double Fold, Down and Out in Paris and London.

Metadata

  • Category: Books
  • Mention count: 3
  • Issue count: 3
  • First seen: June 11, 2021
  • Last seen: July 10, 2021

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Your Book Review: How Children Fail
June 11, 2021 · Original source
He collected the memos and essays he wrote that year into a book, How Children Fail, meant to be read by educators and parents to help them understand what is going wrong in schools, as a first step toward figuring out ways of fixing it. Holt was a big believer in “hold off on proposing solutions until you’ve really analyzed the problem.” When I first read this book, though, I wasn’t in its intended audience. I was nine years old, which meant it was a handbook, not on education, but on rationality.
How Children Fail was published sixty years ago, when the most exciting piece of educational technology was a set of wooden blocks. John Holt wrote a revised edition of How Children Fail in 1982, after becoming an advocate for homeschooling and child emancipation. The original edition ended by calling for reform of the school system, saying it should provide buffet tables for students to browse, rather than force feeding. The revised edition adds a postscript:
Inline links: a set of wooden blocks
Vote In The Book Review Contest!
June 18, 2021 · Original source
1: Order Without Law 2: On The Natural Faculties 3: Progress And Poverty 4: Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are? 5: Why Buddhism Is True 6: Double Fold 7: The Wizard And The Prophet 8: Through The Eye Of A Needle 9: The Years Of Lyndon Johnson 10: Addiction By Design 11: The Accidental Superpower 12: Humankind 13: The Collapse Of Complex Societies 14: Where’s My Flying Car? 15: Down And Out In Paris And London 16: How Children Fail 17: Plagues And Peoples
Inline links: Order Without Law, On The Natural Faculties, Progress And Poverty, Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are?, Why Buddhism Is True, Double Fold, The Wizard And The Prophet, Through The Eye Of A Needle, The Years Of Lyndon Johnson, Addiction By Design, The Accidental Superpower, Humankind, The Collapse Of Complex Societies, Where’s My Flying Car?, Down And Out In Paris And London, How Children Fail, Plagues And Peoples
Book Review Contest: Winners
July 10, 2021 · Original source
Order Without Law, reviewed by Phil Hazelden Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are, reviewed by Jeff Russell Why Buddhism Is True, reviewed by Eve Bigaj Double Fold, reviewed by Boštjan P The Wizard And The Prophet, reviewed by Maryana Through The Eye Of A Needle, reviewed by Tom Powell Years Of Lyndon Johnson, reviewed by Theodore Ehrenborg Addiction By Design, reviewed by Ketchup Duck The Accidental Superpower, reviewed by Jon Boguth Humankind, reviewed by Neil Roques The Collapse Of Complex Societies, reviewed by Etirabys Where's My Flying Car, reviewed by Jonathan P How Children Fail, reviewed by HonoreDB Plagues And Peoples, reviewed by Joel Ferris (who is looking for a job, email here)
Inline links: Order Without Law, Phil Hazelden, Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are, Jeff Russell, Why Buddhism Is True, Eve Bigaj, Double Fold, Boštjan P, The Wizard And The Prophet, Through The Eye Of A Needle, Years Of Lyndon Johnson, Addiction By Design, The Accidental Superpower, Humankind, The Collapse Of Complex Societies, Etirabys, Where's My Flying Car, How Children Fail, Plagues And Peoples, here