Education & Reference
The big ideas behind teaching. Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed rejects "banking" education, where teachers deposit facts into students, in favour of dialogue and critical awareness. bell hooks's Teaching to Transgress builds on Freire to describe teaching as a practice of freedom. Neil Postman's The End of Education asks which stories can still give schools a shared purpose. Short, influential and widely taught, these books suit teachers, education students and anyone who wants to think about what learning should be.
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Education & Reference
How to teach well, in theory and in practice. bell hooks's Teaching to Transgress describes teaching as a practice of freedom, where the classroom becomes a place of excitement, honesty and shared learning across differences of race, class and gender. Daniel T. Willingham's Why Don't Students Like School? brings cognitive science into the classroom with practical principles about memory, attention and practice. One inspiring and one practical book, for teachers at every level and anyone who helps others learn. See Education & Reference for more.
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Education & Reference
Curriculum is what children are taught; instruction is how. Natalie Wexler's The Knowledge Gap argues that many schools, especially in the early grades, have focused on reading "skills" at the expense of real knowledge about history, science and the world, and that this has hurt the students who most need school to work. Wexler follows teachers and classrooms to show the difference a knowledge-rich curriculum makes. Essential for teachers, school leaders and parents. More books will join this category; see Education & Reference for related reading.
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Education & Reference
Books about schools from kindergarten to high school, and how to make them better. Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System explains why a leading education historian turned against testing, accountability and school choice, policies she had once supported. Amanda Ripley's The Smartest Kids in the World follows American students in Finland, South Korea and Poland to see what makes some school systems succeed. Two widely discussed books for parents, teachers and anyone interested in school reform. See Education & Reference for more.
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Education & Reference
Books about college and university, and what higher learning can do for a person. Tara Westover's Educated tells how a woman raised in a survivalist family in Idaho, without any schooling, taught herself enough to enter college and went on to Cambridge, and what that education cost her. bell hooks's Teaching to Transgress describes university teaching as a practice of freedom, where students and teachers learn together. Two powerful books about the meaning of education, for students, teachers and anyone who loves learning. See Education & Reference for more.
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Education & Reference
Educational psychology studies how people learn, remember and stay motivated. Daniel T. Willingham's Why Don't Students Like School? explains what cognitive science says about the mind and turns it into practical advice: why knowledge comes before critical thinking, why memory depends on what we think about, and how teachers can keep students engaged. Natalie Wexler's The Knowledge Gap applies similar findings to reading and curriculum. Two clear, practical books for teachers and parents. See Education & Reference for more.
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Education & Reference
Books on how schools are run, funded and reformed. Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System turns against the testing and choice policies she once supported; Jonathan Kozol's The Shame of the Nation documents segregation and unequal funding. Natalie Wexler's The Knowledge Gap argues that schools neglect knowledge for skills, Amanda Ripley's The Smartest Kids in the World compares students across countries, and Neil Postman's The End of Education asks what purpose schooling still serves. Essential reading for teachers, parents and anyone voting on school policy.
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Education & Reference
Libraries and the people who run them help readers find the right book at the right time. This category gathers WebToTell's writing on libraries, librarians and how readers discover books. Our article on why your librarian is the best source for personal book recommendations explains how librarians match readers with books, what to ask them and how to make the most of your local library, from reader's advisory to holds and interlibrary loans. Books on libraries and information will join this shelf over time; meanwhile, see Education & Reference for related reading.
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