John Holt

John Holt is my hero. I was so sad when he passed away. I was glad I got a chance to hear him speak, meet him, have him autograph my copy of Teach Your Own, and listen to him play his traveling cello.

I was in the College of Education at the University of Cincinnati and was not satisfied with what I was presented about educational philosophy and child development. In my free time I sought out the current educational writers of the time. I read everything I could get my hands on by Ivan Illich, Postman and Weingartner, Jonathan Kozol. Then I found a copy of John Holt's How Children Fail at a used bookstore. It was John Holt's first book. I devoured it.

From there I went on to read every John Holt book written, and I read them in chronological order. And I found with each turn of the page that I agreed with John Holt, and most passionately so. I never heard his writing mentioned in my education classes. I continued to read his missives alongside my college of education textbooks. The contrast was striking.

John Holt was publishing more books at the time I was in college. As each book came out I read it. I continued to agree with his conclusions. By the time I reached my senior year of college I was in turmoil. I knew I did not want to seek employment as a classroom teacher any longer. My goals had drastically changed since I started college. Every hour inside schools as a student teacher only firmed my resolve to try to find other ways to use my education degree.

I was only one quarter from graduation when John Holt published Teach Your Own. I had watched as John Holt began as school reformer and metamorphosized into home school advocate. His journey and mine were one and the same. He was not a parent and neither was I. I graduated with honors but skipped the job interviews.

I urge all my readers to read anything by John Holt, whether you are a parent or not, whether you support homeschooling or public education or private education. John Holt has some valuable observations for all of us when it comes to how children learn best.

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