The Book of Learning and Forge

Smith, Frank

ISBN 10: 080773750X / ISBN 13: 9780807737507

Published by Teachers College Press, 1998

Item in good condition and has highlighting/writing on text. Used texts may not contain supplemental items such as CDs, info-trac etc. Seller Inventory # 00098144568

Synopsis:

In this thought-provoking book, Frank Smith explains how schools and educational authorities systematically obstruct the powerful inherent learning abilities of children, creating handicaps that often persist through life. The author eloquently contrasts a false and fabricated “official theory” that learning is work (used to justify the external control of teachers and students through excessive regulation and massive testing) with a correct but officially suppressed “classic view” that learning is a social process that can occur naturally and continually through collaborative activities. This book will be crucial reading in a time when national authorities continue to blame teachers and students for alleged failures in education. It will help educators and parents to combat sterile attitudes toward teaching and learning and prevent current practices from doing further harm.

About the Author:

Frank Smith was a reporter, editor, and novelist before beginning his formal research into language, thinking, and learning. He has been a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, the University of Toronto, the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Book of Learning and Forge
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Publication Date: 1998
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Good