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Coloring Outside the Lines: Raising a Smarter Kid by Breaking All the Rules
If you're frustrated with your child's public school education and aren't sure what to do about it, start by reading this book. In Coloring Outside the Lines, author Roger Schank asserts that raising smarter kids isn't about forcing information on kids when they aren't ready or interested. Instead, he helps parents identify the individual interests of their children and explains how to continually nurture a genuine love of learning, resulting in children who are determined, creative, and ambitious. Maintaining that school is generally not the best place for active learning, Schank says parents can counteract any potential harm by emphasizing positive experiences and ultimately come out ahead. His suggestion regarding grades seems quite sensible--every term there should be one class your child loves enough to happily work for an A, and average grades are acceptable for the rest of the subjects.
That's just one of many unconventional ideas presented here, as much of what Schank says goes against the norm. The section discussing creativity is especially unique. All too often, educators assume that creativity is the same thing as artistic ability, even though some of the most creative figures in history excelled in the areas of math and science. His suggestions about raising creative children address this issue and show parents great ways to foster creativity as an overall personality trait. With each chapter combining theory and practice, this book is a great combination of inspiration and how-to that will help your children get the best possible education by ultimately teaching themselves. --Jill Lightner
244 pages, Hardcover
First published July 3, 2000
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March 19, 2014
This is one of the worst parenting books I have ever read. I am not exaggerating to make a point. Truly. I have no idea how this got published.
Don't get me wrong. I hardly disagree with anything Schank proposes. To raise smarter kids parents need to: spend more one-on-one time with them, expose them to a variety of experiences, recognize their child's inner talent and nurture it, develop their child's verbal ability and other such commonsense stuff. Hardly groundbreaking. If you are picking up a book such as this one, chances are you have already given thought to various ways of developing your child's inner potential. You have probably chatted with your baby since the moment you met him or her, read to him/her dutifully, tried to spend every moment together etc. This is the most basic of all books on the subject that I have ever come across; and I have read extensively on the topic of child development.
As if wasting the reader's time by reciting well-known child-rearing principles were not enough, Schank also comes off incredibly obnoxious. This man is a scholar, yet not a single study is cited in his book. But then, why would he cite any studies when he has an amazing sample size of two (his own children) to draw upon? Most of his statements are backed up by "When Hana was 4..." or "when my son was a teenager.." Not having met Mr. Schank's children, these examples are meaningless to me. I want to see something credible.
But it gets better. It's not enough that Schank's children are brilliant directly as a result of his efforts, his friends' kids are dumb by comparison. Many of his examples take the form of "my friend asked me why my child was so verbal, and hers was not.." or "I looked at her surly child who didn't say a word to me, and immediately thought he was dumb" [these are not quotes, I am paraphrasing]. Does this man have any friends left after this book came out?
Or a wife, for that matter, because all that is good about his children is the result of Mr. Schank's effort, and his effort only. His wife, apparently, did not read a single book to the children, because all of his statements use singular personal pronouns: "I exposed my children to my single-minded, rule-breaking, self-confident behaviors both at home and at work." The wife makes 1 (!) appearance in the book in a story of the family being on a skiing vacation, trying out skiing for the first time, and the wife falling and making a big fuss of her pain. Bad timing, admonishes Schank, for one should never link new experiences with such attitudes. By the way, it turns out that the wife's leg was broken. The man is an asshole.
Having said all that, the only reason I gave this book 2 stars rather than one is a very frank rant about schools. Again, I agree with the basic premise here. Schools tend to harm individuality and creativity so if you are not going to home school your child, at least mitigate the damage. To Schank's credit, being an asshole allows him to be refreshingly frank about the issue.
All in all, if you are already doing something (anything, really) in the home with your child, skip this book. Chances are, you are better aware than this author about what it takes to raise a smart kid.
Don't get me wrong. I hardly disagree with anything Schank proposes. To raise smarter kids parents need to: spend more one-on-one time with them, expose them to a variety of experiences, recognize their child's inner talent and nurture it, develop their child's verbal ability and other such commonsense stuff. Hardly groundbreaking. If you are picking up a book such as this one, chances are you have already given thought to various ways of developing your child's inner potential. You have probably chatted with your baby since the moment you met him or her, read to him/her dutifully, tried to spend every moment together etc. This is the most basic of all books on the subject that I have ever come across; and I have read extensively on the topic of child development.
As if wasting the reader's time by reciting well-known child-rearing principles were not enough, Schank also comes off incredibly obnoxious. This man is a scholar, yet not a single study is cited in his book. But then, why would he cite any studies when he has an amazing sample size of two (his own children) to draw upon? Most of his statements are backed up by "When Hana was 4..." or "when my son was a teenager.." Not having met Mr. Schank's children, these examples are meaningless to me. I want to see something credible.
But it gets better. It's not enough that Schank's children are brilliant directly as a result of his efforts, his friends' kids are dumb by comparison. Many of his examples take the form of "my friend asked me why my child was so verbal, and hers was not.." or "I looked at her surly child who didn't say a word to me, and immediately thought he was dumb" [these are not quotes, I am paraphrasing]. Does this man have any friends left after this book came out?
Or a wife, for that matter, because all that is good about his children is the result of Mr. Schank's effort, and his effort only. His wife, apparently, did not read a single book to the children, because all of his statements use singular personal pronouns: "I exposed my children to my single-minded, rule-breaking, self-confident behaviors both at home and at work." The wife makes 1 (!) appearance in the book in a story of the family being on a skiing vacation, trying out skiing for the first time, and the wife falling and making a big fuss of her pain. Bad timing, admonishes Schank, for one should never link new experiences with such attitudes. By the way, it turns out that the wife's leg was broken. The man is an asshole.
Having said all that, the only reason I gave this book 2 stars rather than one is a very frank rant about schools. Again, I agree with the basic premise here. Schools tend to harm individuality and creativity so if you are not going to home school your child, at least mitigate the damage. To Schank's credit, being an asshole allows him to be refreshingly frank about the issue.
All in all, if you are already doing something (anything, really) in the home with your child, skip this book. Chances are, you are better aware than this author about what it takes to raise a smart kid.
February 15, 2012
I had to return this book before finishing the last 20% or so, but the gist of the book is that smarter children exhibit:
+ verbal proficiency
+ creativity
+ analytical skill
+ stick-to-itiveness
+ ambition
+ inquisitiveness
Borrowing from another reviewer, the way to foster these characteristics is:
While there were some good points made in this book, I took mild offense to his frequent assertions that your child's teacher will snuff out all creativity in your child. Obviously he's referring to schooling in general, and he is correct about that to a degree, but the fault doesn't lie with the teacher. But I'm a teacher, so there it is.
+ verbal proficiency
+ creativity
+ analytical skill
+ stick-to-itiveness
+ ambition
+ inquisitiveness
Borrowing from another reviewer, the way to foster these characteristics is:
Experiences - having a wide variety of interactions and experiences with many people and places
Reflecting - to retell a stories, get kids to explain themselves and the world
Failure - can't learn unless willing to fail, put child in situations where he can fail without harm
Creativity is not an elite talent, but something that everyone exercises and can develop to one degree or another.
Children who learn to march to their own drummer ignore rules, and single mindedly pursue their own "wacky" ideas are the ones who exhibit real creativity.
Encourage a child to let his mind wander.
Foster your child's interesting dreams, often reflecting uniqueness of your child.
As parents, need to develop a creative attitude in your children and recognize that school will attempt to squelch this attitude from kindergarten through college.
While there were some good points made in this book, I took mild offense to his frequent assertions that your child's teacher will snuff out all creativity in your child. Obviously he's referring to schooling in general, and he is correct about that to a degree, but the fault doesn't lie with the teacher. But I'm a teacher, so there it is.
April 9, 2010
Schank provides a cogent view of how to foster gumption, creativity, and analytical skills in children in order to combat the damage that schooling does. When reflecting on my own public education, I can see how narrow the parameters were for acceptable thinking and problem-solving and how removed any of that was from real-life issues. One of the ideas he expressed that resonated the most with me was exposing children to a broad range of experience, allowing them to have expectation failure in order to enhance learning (allowing them to try and figure out why things were different than expected).
His emphasis on sports, though, was a bit much for me, and I think he is biased because he clearly enjoys athletics. I'm not discounting that physical challenges can be valuable, but if a child has absolutely no interest in sports, I don't think pushing them to compete would be helpful. Also, I think sometimes kids need more then Socratic dialogue and leading questions - - sometimes they need someone to empathize with them and sometimes just straight out answer a question. If the goal is to treat kids respectfully, then I think we should treat them how we might treat our spouse. If my spouse wants to know the definition of something, or the spelling of something, I provide that answer.
Overall, though, a thought-provoking book that I wish every school administrator and bureaucrat, politician, parent, and teacher had to read. Maybe some minds would be opened and some real changes could be made in the schools.
His emphasis on sports, though, was a bit much for me, and I think he is biased because he clearly enjoys athletics. I'm not discounting that physical challenges can be valuable, but if a child has absolutely no interest in sports, I don't think pushing them to compete would be helpful. Also, I think sometimes kids need more then Socratic dialogue and leading questions - - sometimes they need someone to empathize with them and sometimes just straight out answer a question. If the goal is to treat kids respectfully, then I think we should treat them how we might treat our spouse. If my spouse wants to know the definition of something, or the spelling of something, I provide that answer.
Overall, though, a thought-provoking book that I wish every school administrator and bureaucrat, politician, parent, and teacher had to read. Maybe some minds would be opened and some real changes could be made in the schools.
May 28, 2008
I love/hate this book, but overall, it was just what I was looking for. My daughter said "Mom, school is making me uncreative because there are too many instructions, you have to help me not lose my creativity- talent!!!"
This book says the six abilities that define "smart" are verbal proficiency
creativity
analytical skill
stick-to-itiveness
ambition
inquisitiveness
The book gives great ideas on what you can do to help little minds grow and be creative in each area. It sounds like so much fun and you can't wait to try it. My daughter approves of what I've learned.
Unfortunately the author seeks to rationalize some of his personal shortcomings as being signs of superior intelligence throughout the book, namely defiance and disrespect for authority. He also has one section where he concludes that you can't be religious and smart at the same time which is a clear justification for his lack of religious conviction. He also says that children should be allowed to experiement with immorality. I know a strong religious foundation would enrich a child's growth in all of the areas he suggests especially in building confidence, giving them something to stand for, teaching them about meaningful goals, giving them leadership opportunities, etc.
I would say read the book, ignore the egotistical personal experiences he throws in and think of your own. Have fun!
This book says the six abilities that define "smart" are verbal proficiency
creativity
analytical skill
stick-to-itiveness
ambition
inquisitiveness
The book gives great ideas on what you can do to help little minds grow and be creative in each area. It sounds like so much fun and you can't wait to try it. My daughter approves of what I've learned.
Unfortunately the author seeks to rationalize some of his personal shortcomings as being signs of superior intelligence throughout the book, namely defiance and disrespect for authority. He also has one section where he concludes that you can't be religious and smart at the same time which is a clear justification for his lack of religious conviction. He also says that children should be allowed to experiement with immorality. I know a strong religious foundation would enrich a child's growth in all of the areas he suggests especially in building confidence, giving them something to stand for, teaching them about meaningful goals, giving them leadership opportunities, etc.
I would say read the book, ignore the egotistical personal experiences he throws in and think of your own. Have fun!
April 8, 2015
This controversial, very direct book has probably ticked off a lot of people in the school system, but for good reasons. Schools don't always do a great job at teaching our kids the skills they'll need in the real world, and don't cater to kids' individual interests and passions (hard to do when classroom sizes are 30+).
Parents can help their kids navigate through a not-so-interesting, cookie-cutting school system and encourage them to develop six "smart" skills": verbal proficiency, creativity, analytical skills, gumption, ambition and inquisitiveness. What I like most about Schank's advice is that it's easy to follow and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. But it does take time commitment from the parents to help their kids be curious, interested and persistent about the world around them.
I recommend this book to parents who want to educate well-rounded children.
Parents can help their kids navigate through a not-so-interesting, cookie-cutting school system and encourage them to develop six "smart" skills": verbal proficiency, creativity, analytical skills, gumption, ambition and inquisitiveness. What I like most about Schank's advice is that it's easy to follow and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. But it does take time commitment from the parents to help their kids be curious, interested and persistent about the world around them.
I recommend this book to parents who want to educate well-rounded children.
September 14, 2012
Really enjoyed this book. He didn't say to take your children out of school, but to look at it in a different light.
I loved his saying that schools were originally set up to teach children how to sit still and do tasks so they were ready for factory work. I also loved that he said that schools today are teaching to the state/federal mandated tests so that students will do well on those tests.
It isn't important that our children memorize dates and facts to pass a test and then forget them. We need to raise inquisitive, self thinking, and motivated children. Not drones.
There were a few things I disagreed with, but most of it felt he was right on the money.
I loved his saying that schools were originally set up to teach children how to sit still and do tasks so they were ready for factory work. I also loved that he said that schools today are teaching to the state/federal mandated tests so that students will do well on those tests.
It isn't important that our children memorize dates and facts to pass a test and then forget them. We need to raise inquisitive, self thinking, and motivated children. Not drones.
There were a few things I disagreed with, but most of it felt he was right on the money.
May 9, 2009
He's not PC (says a parent should raise a child, not daycare); he's pretty provocative (tells us to teach our kids to break rules); he's very down on formal schooling (asserts in needs to take place one-on-one). But he'll make you question your assumptions about education, probably to the benefit of your child.
September 13, 2020
Most adults, naturally, maintain a strong aversion to any tradition, policy or institution that, intentionally or not, harms children. And to Roger Schank, an expert on learning, one of society's most "sacred cows," - one left largely unexamined - does much of the damage, our schools. Most readers, like myself, may find Schank's compelling reasoning both liberating and enraging. Liberating because the author, in clear, accessible writing, argues that basically, traditional thinking about how young people learn - and how schools maximize this capacity, is deeply flawed. And that's where the enraging part kicks in. Because often smitten by an idea or example by Dr. Schank, you'll wonder, "Heck, why aren't our schools doing this?" Like get better at fostering each student's unique interests and strengths? But the good news is many of his key suggestions can be encouraged at home. Like stimulating dinnertime conversations. Or asking questions. My favorite is when the author asked one of his kids: "What's your favorite subject?" To his or her answer, he replied, "Then you need to be doing more in that subject than you're doing in class - because it's your thing." Simple yet profound advice. Like most of humankind's greatest breakthroughs. And this book, in my view, represents one of them.
January 4, 2020
DNF at page 104. The book starts out strong noting the differences in intelligence and the downfalls of the public education system, but pretty quickly goes off the rails. This author's tone is downright aggresive and he doesn't site a single source to back up his claims other than his personal experiences with his own two kids, who are apparently more successful than any other kid ever. Read John Taylor Gatto instead. This book isn't worth the time.
February 26, 2008
The first chapter was very promising, and I constantly nodded my head in agreement with much of what the author was purposing. However, as he started getting into the nitty-gritty of "how children learn," my excitement quickly turned to disappointment. I picked up this books with the hopes of learning more about how children learn and what "new and better" methods are out there for teaching young children - also, how to keep their passion for learning intact throughout the trials and rigors of school. Perhaps the author had some great insights, but I hardly made it past the second chapter. The first red flag was when the author stated that kids really don't need to learn any math beyond algerbra for the simple reason that they'll never use it in "real" life. Perhaps it's just the math nerd inside me rebelling but...what the heck? If that were the standard for determining what children should learn, there would be a *whole* lot left out. I haven't picked up a trumpet in over a decade, but I don't regret learning to play and read music in band class. Not to mention that fact that some children might actually enjoy math...
Red flag number two: the author relates a story of when he let his 10 year old ride around the Metro system in France *alone* all day. That's when I closed the book and decided that his parenting outlook was much different from my own.
I could go on with other examples, but I was greatly disappointed by this book.
Red flag number two: the author relates a story of when he let his 10 year old ride around the Metro system in France *alone* all day. That's when I closed the book and decided that his parenting outlook was much different from my own.
I could go on with other examples, but I was greatly disappointed by this book.
January 11, 2009
Six traits of smarter kids...Raise a kid that is verbal, creative, analytical, has more gumption, ambitious, inquisitive.
Learning occurs because of:
Experiences - having a wide variety of interactions and experiences with many people and places
Reflecting - to retell a stories, get kids to explain themselves and the world
Failure - can't learn unless willing to fail, put child in situations where he can fail without harm
Creativity is not an elite talent, but something that everyone exercises and can develop to one degree or another.
Children who learn to march to their own drummer ignore rules, and single mindedly pursue their own "wacky" ideas are the ones who exhibit real creativity.
Encourage a child to let his mind wander.
Foster your child's interesting dreams, often reflecting uniqueness of your child.
As parents, need to develop a creative attitude in your children and recognize that school will attempt to squelch this attitude from kindergarten through college.
Learning occurs because of:
Experiences - having a wide variety of interactions and experiences with many people and places
Reflecting - to retell a stories, get kids to explain themselves and the world
Failure - can't learn unless willing to fail, put child in situations where he can fail without harm
Creativity is not an elite talent, but something that everyone exercises and can develop to one degree or another.
Children who learn to march to their own drummer ignore rules, and single mindedly pursue their own "wacky" ideas are the ones who exhibit real creativity.
Encourage a child to let his mind wander.
Foster your child's interesting dreams, often reflecting uniqueness of your child.
As parents, need to develop a creative attitude in your children and recognize that school will attempt to squelch this attitude from kindergarten through college.
May 29, 2007
I've given this book to friends or family who are teachers and/or parents. It is a commentary about what does or does not make a smart child, about how getting straight A's in school or high scores on standardized testing does not make a child the smartest they could be, and what kinds of life lessons are necessary that do not take place or happen in schools.
March 22, 2009
Chapter 8, "How to Raise a Kid with More Gumption," got me thinking about "gumption." (I don't know if I've ever seen that word in a book before.) Willow (the little girl in my picture book) has it. But do I? Do my three children?
January 1, 2008
This was a GREAT book for parents with kids in school as well as homeschoolers and teachers. I loved his take on kids and learning. He's witty, fun, and has a great philosophy.
July 1, 2008
I love the rebellious, take-your-education-into-your-own-hands approach of this book. It's inspiring and eye-opening. Makes me want to homeschool. :)
May 5, 2009
I realling liked this book and would suggest it to any parent that has kids in school.
September 18, 2011
This was an amazing book to read! It was very enlightening and showed me the things I was doing "right" and how I could improve in other areas. This is a must read for any parent or any parent to-be.
November 16, 2012
Must read for any parent or teacher!
June 4, 2015
while I disagree with some of the things he says, there are some things that opened my eyes and gave me new insights
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews