Are You Schoolproofed?

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I just picked up a delicious book at a used book sale yesterday – Mary Pride’s Schoolproof; How to Help Your Family Beat the System and Learn to Love Learning – The Easy, Natural Way. I have only just begun to digest it myself, but thought I would share a yummy morsel from the Intro:

What is Schoolproofing?

Schoolproofing means making sure your children get a great education, no matter what political or educational theory happens to be in vogue. It means having children who learn to read in an age of illiteracy; who learn to obey legitimate authority in an age of sullen rebellion; who learn to stand against injustice in an age of craven conformity. It means that your children will smarter, more affectionate, less dependent on external rewards and punishments. It means that you will be more confident, less worried about your children, more able to enjoy them and have high hopes for their future.

Schoolproofing means learning how to educate, so you can recognize good and bad education. It means knowing your options: different ways of presenting a lesson, different educational philosophies, different types of teaching setups.

Schoolproofing means YOU are in control. You will have the tools to shop around intelligently in the educational marketplace, or even to opt out and do it yourself. You will recognize the warning signs, if a change is needed, and have the power to make the change. You will have more respect for the good teachers, and less awe of the bad. You will understand your children’s difficulties and triumphs.

No longer will your children have to stand in line at the educational cafeteria and take whatever is dished out. You will have learned how to cook up your own educational feasts; and if you choose, instead of doing your own cooking, to send the children to a better restaurant, you will know what to look for.