Teachers suggest some reading material

Starman · Jul 14, 2006

I plan on going into education, probably high school, as soon as I finish my degree in a few years. Any educators out there know of some good books or articles on teaching/education theory that might be helpful?

Ankh-Morpork Guard · Jul 14, 2006

"10 Not-So-Good Reasons Why NOT to Kill the Students"

Mycanid · Jul 14, 2006

The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis is one that comes to mind immediately.

Another very interesting one, although hard to follow, is Poetic Diction by Owen Barfield. VERY interesting stuff that shows what actually goes on inside the person as he grows and develops "tastes".

This second one is primarily focused on the English and Art department side of things. The first is more general.

jaerdaph · Jul 14, 2006

Anything by Howard Gardner, especially his Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

Jdvn1 · Jul 15, 2006

Kozol is good for a variety of educational topics. He has a number of books.

Also, try out this site: edweek.org

Starman · Jul 15, 2006

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to check some of these out.

Aesthetic Monk · Jul 16, 2006

Starman said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to check some of these out.

What area, generally? My background's in English education, but I know of some more general things, too.

As someone mentioned, Kozol's good for some inspiration and agitation.

I'm an educational history person, so though there might be a hundred books I could recommend, I might just suggest one: "Education and Social Change" by John L. Rury. It's short--maybe too short, actually, if this is your first trip through the history of formal education in the US, but it should give you some signposts about where we've been.

Theodore (Ted) Sizer's "Horace" books, though a bit older now, are good for getting people to think about what's important in education.

I'd also encourage you to look into any one of the numerous books about standardized testing. Though this isn't "philosophy" per se, it's hard to understate the extent to which standardized testing affects K-12 education today. "Standardized Minds," the author of which I forget (Saks?), is considered pretty good.

These books are probably as much "policy" as "philosophy." If you want "real" philosophy, Dewey, though often mocked and caricatured, is pretty much essential to understanding twentieth-century education movements (and reactions to them). Many of the analytical philosophers, such as Aristotle, Plato, Kant, and Mill, have important things to say about education, whether directly, like Plato, or more generally. Though there are many holes, I feel, in her thinking, Nel Noddings and her idea of "caring" in education have been very influential in the last couple of decades.

Starman · Jul 16, 2006

Aesthetic Monk said:
What area, generally? My background's in English education, but I know of some more general things, too.

History, but I am curious about all aspects of education.

Justin · Jul 16, 2006

The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto

Mycanid · Jul 17, 2006

Kept thinking about your question since your asking.... A good article about education has been written by the author Dorothy Sayers too:

http://www.brccs.org/sayers_tools.html

This is a good one, but I am a big proponent of the "classics" style education methods....