Writing About John Holt
A Life Worth Living: Selected Letters Of John Holt
Susannah Sheffer's brilliant introduction to this book of Holt's letters is a great summary of Holt's work and life.
Interview With John Holt, In Context Magazine, 1984
Children are more capable of competent self-directed learning than we give them credit for.
Minding American Education: Reclaiming The Tradition Of Active Learning
Martin Brickman (Teachers College Press, 2003) has written a wonderful history of the alternative vision of a lineage of American thinkers who challenged conventional education to be more than sitting down and taking tests.
Free Schools, Free People Education And Democracy After The 1960s
Ron Miller's book Free Schools, Free People: Education and Democracy After the 1960s contains a great chapter that discusses Holt's contributions to American education, "The Legacy of John Holt.”
Foreword To The Underachieving School
The first printing of this book in over thirty years. It is amazing how little of this material is dated!
John Holt In The Mother Earth News
A great interview by Pat Stone with John Holt in the July/August 1980 edition of The Mother Earth News.
YANKEE interview: The Education Of John Holt
The Education of John Holt by Mel Allen. This profile appeared in the December 1981 issue of Yankee magazine.
Introduction To Instead Of Education: Ways To Help People Do Things Better
This is a time for zeal in education reform, and it knows no bounds. Newsweek reports, “More than a third of the state legislatures have passed laws mandating testing that emphasizes achievement in basic skills.” Cries for, “’More, tougher tests!,’ ‘Higher standards!,’ and ‘Back to Basics!’” are being made all across the political spectrum.
