The Dysfunctional School: Uncomfortable Truths and Awkward Insights on School, Learning and Teaching

by Michael Reist

Here is a book that looks at schools from the inside, from the point of view of a classroom teacher who has spent a career trying to understand how schools work - and don't work. In a collection of short reflections, the author describes some of the dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours that diminish learning and hurt children. The Dysfunctional School is a call to all adults responsible for the care of young people to question the traditional approaches of what Michael Reist refers to as "factory schooling." "The processes of school have lead to the loss of the love of learning in most students. If you go into any kindergarten class, you will see a hive of enthusiasm for learning - a sea of hands raised for every question posed by the teacher. Fast forward to the grade 12 class. You see stress, fear, apathy and "acting out." What has happened in between? School has happened." "Institutions become dysfunctional when they do not accomplish the purposes for which they were created. Schools were created to be places of true learning, places where the true natures of children would be allowed to grow and flourish. By this definition, there are too many students for whom school is not 'working.'" - from The Dysfunctional School

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Michael Reist is a nationally-recognized authority on the needs of children. He is the author of the Canadian bestseller Raising Boys In A New Kind Of World as well as What Every Parent Should Know About School and The Dysfunctional School: Uncomfortable Truths and Awkward Insights on School, Learning and Teaching.

His most recent book is entitled Raising Emotionally Healthy Boys.

He has published over 90 articles on topics ranging from education, spirituality and parenting to movies, books and popular culture.

Michael’s work has been featured on CBC Television and Radio, Global TV, CityTV, TV Ontario, Today’s Parent Magazine, The Globe and Mail, The National Post and the Toronto Star.

He is a frequent speaker to parent groups and conferences across Canada where his workshops on how boys and girls learn differently and the influence of technology on kids have drawn large crowds and enthusiastic responses.

A classroom teacher for over thirty years, Michael now works in private practice where he is a mentor to countless young people and their parents.