Changing Our Minds: How children can take control of their own learning

by Naomi Fisher

Children are born full of curiosity, eager to participate in the world. They learn as they live, with enthusiasm and joy. Then we send them to school. We stop them from playing and actively exploring their interests, telling them it's more important to sit still and listen. The result is that for many children, their motivation to learn drops dramatically. The joy of the early years is replaced with apathy and anxiety.

This is not inevitable. We are socialised to believe that schooling is synonymous with education, but it's only one approach. Self-directed education puts the child back in control of their learning. This enables children, including those diagnosed with special educational needs, to flourish in their own time and on their own terms. It enables us to put wellbeing at the centre of education.

Changing Our Minds brings together research, theory and practice on learning. It includes interviews with influential thinkers in the field of self-directed education and examples from families alongside practical advice. This essential guide will give you an understanding of why self-directed education makes sense, how it works, and what to do to put it into action yourself.

Genres: Parenting, Education, Nonfiction, Family, Amazon, Audiobook, Psychology

304 pages, Paperback

Published February 8, 2022

Reviews

[Marianne Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind actually blown. I’m a teacher and the parent of an autistic child and this has challenged and changed pretty much most of what I thought about education. Absolutely brilliant.

[Tobias · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone involved with self-directed education, or any parent homeschooling or unschooling their child, this is an incredibly helpful resource. It will calm you down, make you laugh and fill your heart with the confidence that you've chosen the right path to help them find their own.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this book had come into my parenting life, and challenged my beliefs around school and formal learning, sooner. An easy to read, well-formatted and relatable explanation of formal and self-directed learning, supported by research and the experiences of the author, other professionals, parents and children. My only criticism is the section on implementing home education can feel a little ‘out of reach’ if starting with an older child or doesn’t have financial security.
Highly recommend for any parent - whether they’re considering home education or not - and education provider.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably give 3.5 if I could. There are some fantastic arguments, backed by research in this book. Some gems of wisdom too. However, her view on neurodivergent children irked me in a big way. As did her ignorance around research on depression, and also her constant push of unlimited screen time, even for young children. No research put forward on the benefits of outdoor time, movement, or exercise, and none put forward on any possible negative effects of screen time.

Worth a read if interest-led education is of interest to you, however be mindful of the gaps.

[Christy Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened in little chunks over a good few months. This book is a game changer. Wish I’d had it 8 years ago when the wheels first started to come off. Will never stop recommending it.

[Rugpjute · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of repeating. Anyway, it's an enganging read with lots of insights/references to further reading about SDL :))

[Nerius · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very interesting and valuable book, that took many assumptions that I consider correct and somehow managed to make an extreme conclusion.
It's difficult to argue that the way schools work today exerts a toll on children and teenagers, that the system is outdated, that the pressure on systemization and external motivation (i.e. grades) does not encourage exploration and intrinsic motivation. There's also social media, bullying and other challenges that the book does not delve too deep in.
But to suggest that the most logical solution to all of these challenges is to take ALL children out of the school system seems far fetched. Like saying that since capitalism is exploitative so the only solution for all of us to start growing potatoes and go back to natural economy. Which is not very likely for various reasons.
I was left lacking (as the author does mention at one stage) options for those who cannot be stay at home parents, who cannot "unschool" their small children but need to continue living their rat-race lives. At minimum it would be important to understand what other non-US and non-UK countries are doing and if that works, for instance Finland - where they top happiness indexes as well as educational olympiads. They must be doing something right.

Still, I am very happy to have read this book even if I don't agree with the conclusion. I think the author identifies many of the issues accurately, I am just left on my own to find solutions.

[Sara Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naomi Fisher writes very persuasively (and reassuringly for those who feel school is not the right place for their child) about the benefits of unschooling and self directed learning - and it was quite a revelation to me how much we use control in schooling and parenting to shape our children into the people we think they should become. I am quite pro-unschooling, so to me the tone felt quite balanced (Fisher acknowledges some challenges the unschooling parent might face - mostly born of their own sense of loss of control) but I can imagine some readers might feel the picture she paints of both process and outcomes, is perhaps a little too rosy, and not achievable at scale in our current society.

[Eduardo Rioseco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno tiende a dar por sentada la escolarización como camino para enfocar la educación. Cuando un niño llega a la edad en que normalmente comienza la educación formal, la pregunta que un padre/madre suele hacerse es: ¿a qué tipo de colegio enviaré a mi hijo? Naomi Fisher argumenta que hay una pregunta previa que casi todos simplemente pasamos por alto: ¿por qué debo enviar a mi hijo al colegio? Junto con esa pregunta viene el cuestionamiento a la escolarización tradicional, nacida al alero de la revolución industrial, que obliga a aprender información y una serie de reglas que, si se analizan con distancia, poco tienen que ver con la manera en que opera el mundo real.

La mayor fortaleza del libro está en las reflexiones, muy agudas, sobre la forma en que un individuo aprende a lo largo de su vida. El análisis se sostiene y resulta convincente, pero para mí flaquea cuando Fisher asume un tono crecientemente agresivo. Fisher está muy, muy enojada con el sistema de escolarización tradicional, y esa emoción interrumpe la argumentación serena. Al final la autora plantea un llamado apasionado por la desescolarización absoluta, pero la pérdida de la compostura en el tono hace que el llamado parezca una arenga, y no la conclusión natural de una reflexión serena y lógica.

Aun con ese pecado, que me resultó bastante distractor en muchos momentos, el libro me abrió un mundo.

[Inga]

The author of the book wants to be right and believe what she wants so much that she forgets that there is an objective reality. For example, the often-repeated idea that a child's future does not depend on education. Telling your child that his future does not depend on grades, tests and learning is a lie. Or naivety. Or an illusion. Another leitmotif: children learn by spending their time playing computer games or watching TV series, and they should be allowed to do so for as long as they want. We are talking about industries that are designed to steal time. We are talking about industries that employ the smartest of the smartest people to make it impossible to get away from their products. Working is hard, exercising is hard, eating healthy is hard. Studying is also hard. For everyone. But that does not mean that it should be abandoned under the cover of a theory, not based on any neurobiology, about intrinsic motivation, which is naturally extremely low in many people and will never be high because it is a genetically inherited trait.

[Laura Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book seriously makes you rethink your world view. Kids go to school, right? Of course they do. Except why is that? It’s just a cultural belief. I’m not about to pull my kids out of school, but know question the system, recognise my belief system for what it is,and kind of wish I had the courage (and time and money) to facilitate self-directed education. I guess my only criticism of this book is that there’s no acknowledgment that you need a certain income level to pursue this lifestyle. It’s simply not affordable for huge numbers of people - including many of those who might need it most.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got introduced to Naomi Fisher in a play summit. And loved her talk. This book is the same (i love it!). I'm mindblown as everything she wrote is also how I believe people learn. Because that's what happened to me too. During the pandemic, my agency in learning emerged. I self taught myself about play and the japanese language. It felt like it explained so much about me and how i learned (and how i hope other people learn too -with joy).

Highly recommend for parents, teachers who knows that there's something wrong with our educ system. This might give clarity and alot to reflect to.

[Adrianna Mccabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some great books and resources out there on unschooling and self directed learning, and this wasn't one of them. This book definitely had some good information on SDL but the author came off as incredibly ableist and so uninformed/uneducated about mental illness it was really wild. I found myself wondering if this book was actually like 30 years old based on her views on neurodivergence and mental illness. I would absolutely not recommend this book and will no longer follow this professional in any capacity.

[Trent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved a lot about the book and certainly did think it presented a clear, convincing argument. Highly recommend to any parent or educator!

Only complaints were around the author's lack of awareness (e.g., describing her time in the DRC as when she experienced being "different"...) In this way, it perpetuated a lot of ideas that this approach to learning and raising children is only for wealthy, privileged people.

But was great to include some other perspectives and authors in the final chapters, that helped create a bit more of a balanced perspective.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE book of the moment for home educators.
I suspect I am too late to the party with it as long term (nearly 2 decades) home educator.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with the ideas in the book. I've said and heard a lot of them over the years. But it didn't blow me away. As a book it didn't flow or engage, I found it repetitive and disjointed and a slog to get through. I follow Naomi's work elsewhere and find her short writing inciteful. Needed a better editor.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was recommended to me this week so I started reading it right away. Such a simple, but revolutionary idea to most of us raised in the west with the "School is best" motto. I recommend that everyone with kids or who works with kids read this book.

[Danielle Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like other reviewers have said, very repetitive. I skimmed the last third because it was all a rehash.

This isn’t a book I’ll be recommending, mostly because the tone grated on me. It was condescending at best.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally mind altering if you are educating your children or even if you want to introduce a new way of thinking about school education to your children. Information packed but still digestible and practical. Naomi Fisher has changed the lives of me and my children and I'm forever grateful!

[Philip Mott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book. If you’re new to unschooling or interested in learning about alternatives to familiar school settings then it is full of useful information for you.

[Lisa Culligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illuminating. Took part in a webinar a couple of weeks ago by Naomi Fisher. Brilliant.

[Lauren Beckett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sort of book that if all parents and educators could read it, it could change the world.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. So much useful information and a very necessary alternative view to the status quo

[Alžběta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and inspiring book for all parents - not only those interested in home education or unschooling.

[Malgorzata Piwowarczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well and interest way of presenting facts . A bit too long and in second part too pushy with opinions

[Chasah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a brilliant and empowering book about child-led-learning. I think every parent and teacher should read this book! And it should be required reading for anyone studying childhood development ♥️

[Michelle Crunkleton-Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I don't agree 100% on everything. This is an excellent book on the whys and the how's of self-directed education.

[Joanne Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally brilliant although there were a few parts I disagreed with - mainly around neurodivergence.

[Carlene Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Whilst I don’t agree with everything which it says it puts so well the damage schools can cause.