Customer Reviews

Creating Tomorrow's Schools Today: Education - Our Children - Their Futures

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This is a very significant book for the future of education.

There is a lot of talk about how schools don't do what we want/need them to do
(A School is a Lousy Place To Learn Anything In, Becker 1972),
how they kill creativity,
(Ken Robinson, 2006 on TED.[...]
and how they have to prepare children for jobs that doesn't even exist yet
(shifthappens).

Gerver has gone a step further and not only re-imagined what school can look like but actually DONE something about it and put it into practice. He has taken a brave first step of going beyond the usual schema of what a school IS while satisfying current regulations. Most importantly he has reinvented a failing school into a true community of learning: motivating students, teachers and their community.

This book has definitely inspired me as a parent. As a neurologist and medical educator I have even taken Gerver's general approach to teaching and applied it to training doctors. The ideas in this book are applicable at many levels and go very well with a social theory of learning, in particular legitimate peripheral participation.

Learning happens all the time. That is what we do, even if we're not aware of it. Gerver's approach to integrating subjects is fantastic, presenting concepts such as maths and reading in a way that is useful in every day life results in students taking real responsibility and real interest. He demolishes barriers which are outdated: students are no longer segregated by age, subjects are not learned in isolation. Students are given space to explore their interests and they are integrated with the local community which they form part of yet are normally sequestered from. Congratulations, Gerver! Congratulations Grange!

Gerver takes us on his journey of change, not only explaining WHAT he did, but crucially the HOW, the actual process and lessons learned -and we have a lot to learn from his adventures. His work should be studied, improved and adapted throughout our antiquated conveyor-belt school system. One size does not fit all anymore.

I can only hope that this revolution can take place in time for my own son's education. If not, I shall have the burden of explaining to him what the point of school is and how the disjointed lessons he is "given" are applicable to real life.

Our children need this revolution for a better future. And what could be more important than that?