Book picks similar to
Free Schools by David Gillespie


non-fiction
parenting
education
australian

The Little Book of Thunks: 260 Questions to Make Your Brain Go Ouch!


Ian Gilbert - 2007
    What is a Thunk? A Thunk is a beguiling question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks but helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. The Thunks in this book cover a broad range of topics including truth, justice, reality, beliefs, the natural world, the human condition, art, beauty, existence, difference between right and wrong, good and bad, life and death, war, religion, love, friendship and a whole lot more. The book contains a comprehensive introduction by the author who guides you through the origins and uses of Thunks and how best to use them. Not only are they a fun way to develop thinking skills but they also hit all the right buttons to encourage children .

What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated?: And More Essays on Standards, Grading, and Other Follies


Alfie Kohn - 2004
    Time magazine has called him'perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores.' And the Washington Post says he is 'the most energetic and charismatic figure standing in the way of a major federal effort to make standardized curriculums and tests a fact of life in every U.S. school.'In this new collection of essays, Kohn takes on some of the most important and controversial topics in education of the last few years. His central focus is on the real goals of education-a topic, he argues, that we systematically ignore while lavishing attention on misguided models of learning and counterproductive techniques of motivation.The shift to talking about goals yields radical conclusions and wonderfully pungent essays that only Alfie Kohn could have written. From the title essay's challenge to conventional, conservative definitions of a good education to essays on standards and testing and grades that tally the severe educational costs of overemphasizing a narrow conception of achievement, Kohn boldly builds on his earlier work and writes for a wide audience. Kohn's new book will be greeted with enthusiasm by his many readers and by any teacher or parent looking for a refreshing perspective on today's debates about schools.

The New World, 1956 (A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Book 2)


Winston S. Churchill - 2013
      In the “wilderness” years after Winston S. Churchill unflinchingly guided his country through World War II, he turned his masterful hand to an exhaustive history of the country he loved above all else. And the world discovered that this brilliant military strategist was an equally brilliant storyteller. In 1953, the great man was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.”   This second of four volumes exploring the history of this great nation explores the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the power struggles of the Tudor and Stuart families, the growth of the monarchy, the Protestant Reformation, England’s Civil War, and the discovery of the Americas. A History of the English-Speaking Peoples remains one of the most compelling and vivid works of history ever written.   “This history will endure; not only because Sir Winston has written it, but also because of its own inherent virtues―its narrative power, its fine judgment of war and politics, of soldiers and statesmen, and even more because it reflects a tradition of what Englishmen in the hey-day of their empire thought and felt about their country’s past.” —The Daily Telegraph

The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children


Ronald F. Ferguson - 2019
    We wonder why, for some people, success seems to come so naturally.Could the secret be how they were parented?This book unveils how parenting helped shape some of the most fascinating people you will ever encounter, by doing things that almost any parent can do. You don't have to be wealthy or influential to ensure your child reaches their greatest potential. What you do need is commitment--and the strategies outlined in this book.In The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children, Harvard economist Ronald Ferguson, named in a New York Times profile as the foremost expert on the US educational achievement gap, along with award-winning journalist Tatsha Robertson, reveal an intriguing blueprint for helping children from all types of backgrounds become successful adults.Informed by hundreds of interviews, the book includes never-before-published insights from the How I was Parented Project at Harvard University, which draws on the varying life experiences of 120 Harvard students. Ferguson and Robertson have isolated a pattern with eight roles of the Master Parent that make up the Formula: the Early Learning Partner, the Flight Engineer, the Fixer, the Revealer, the Philosopher, the Model, the Negotiator, and the GPS Navigational Voice.The Formula combines the latest scientific research on child development, learning, and brain growth and illustrates with life stories of extraordinary individuals--from the Harvard-educated Ghanian entrepreneur who, as the young child of a rural doctor, was welcomed in his father's secretive late-night political meetings; to the nation's youngest state-wide elected official, whose hardworking father taught him math and science during grueling days on the family farm in Kentucky; to the DREAMer immigration lawyer whose low-wage mother pawned her wedding ring to buy her academically outstanding child a special flute.The Formula reveals strategies on how you--regardless of race, class, or background--can help your children become the best they can be and shows ways to maximize their chances for happy and purposeful lives.

Learning Revolution


Gordon Dryden - 1994
    That makes it by far the world's biggest selling books, outside the Bible, for 1999! This new edition, now available in America, is completely revised and tells the story of the learning revolution that is need to match the revolution in communications and technology. It presents the world's best research on how every one of us, at any age, can make that revolution happen now. And it tells it in a language that is as easy to read as The Reader's Digest. Among the topics covered: * How to learn anything much faster, better and more easily. * How to read four books a day and remember what you read. * How to learn the basics of a new language in 8 weeks. * How to bridge a 5 year reading gap in 10 weeks. * How to read and write before starting school. * How to make the most of your amazing brain. * How to Mind Map your way to better grades. * How to create successful, profitable ideas. * How to use the world's best learning technology.

Mnemonics Memory Palace Book One: Memory Palaces and Mnemonics. The Forgotten Craft of Memorization and Memory Improvement With Total Recall. (How To Build a Mnemonics Memory Palace 1)


Sjur Midttun - 2016
    In it you will learn: What is a memory palace? How to build your first couple of memory palace. Learn the one secret to why some information stick to your mind, and other types don't How to easily build up to 15 memory palaces, based on the first two. Building memory palaces based on walks/journeys. How to build virtual memory palaces. How to memorize any fact or information using memory palaces. Unlike other popular books on the subject, like "Moonwalking with Einstein", the book "How to Build a Mnemonic Memory Palace" focuses on practical, hands on advice. Information that will get you started making your own memory palaces from day one.  This short, but informative book is virtually packed with information. Tips that simply work. Memory palaces are an ancient, yet somehow forgotten method of memorizing all kinds of information. Before the printing press was invented, content was passed on verbally from person to person. And using the Greek tradition of memory palaces, scholars could store vast amounts of information.  These techniques have seen an increased interest lately, and many people who have been inspired by memory palaces from TV-series like "Sherlock" or books like "Hannibal", want to find a way to easily get started making memory palaces. "How to Build a Mnemonic Memory Palace" literally takes you by the hand and walks you through the process, step by step. And thanks to the many examples, these ancient methods become very clear. In many ways, this book starts where others, like "Moonwalking With Einstein" stop.  Download a sample, or get the set of two books today. Learn how you can use the powerful techniques of memory palaces in order to memorize vitually anything.  A full, practical guide to getting started memorizing all types of information using memory palaces Equally useful for students, as adults Find out the perfect method for memorizing speeches Never forget another keyword

Lead with Literacy: A Pirate Leader's Guide to Developing a Culture of Readers


Mandy Ellis - 2018
    

Homeschooling for Excellence


David Colfax - 1988
    They don't think of themselves as pioneers, though that's what they became. Unhappy with the public schools, the Colfaxes wanted the best education possible for their four sons: a program for learning that met the evolving needs of each child and gave them complete control of how and what their children learned. The results? A prescription for excellence-Harvard educations for their sons Grant, Drew, and Reed. (Their fourth son is still too young for college.)Now the Colfaxes tell how all parents can become involved in homeschooling. In a straight-talking book that reads like a frank conversation among friends, they tell what they did and how they did it: their educational approaches, the lessons they learned, and what materials-books, equipment, educational aids-proved most useful over the years. Best of all, they show you how you can take charge of your children's education-in an invaluable sourcebook that will help you find a rewarding and successful alternative to our failing schools.

The Comfortable Kitchen: 105 Laid-Back, Healthy, and Wholesome Recipes


Alex Snodgrass - 2021
    Her eagerly awaited new book will make that goal a reality.What does comfort mean in The Comfortable Kitchen? These are recipes you’ll feel comfortable making and comfortable feeding your family—and although these meals may fit the bill when it comes to “comfort food,” Alex’s eager audience expects a healthy angle from her cooking. Though many of her meals are fully Whole30, or at the very least Whole30-ish, they are recipes with simple ingredient swaps for a cleaner meal everyone will love and perfect for people who are on the “food freedom” stage of their Whole30 health journey as well. She provides food for every occasion, from one-pot meals to not-so-junky junk food, even including cocktails and desserts, with recipes including:Cajun Chicken and Wild Rice SoupGreen Curry Poached Halibut with HerbsSpicy Chicken Dan Dan NoodlesTexas Style Brisket TacosSheet Pan Honey-Sesame CauliflowerClayton’s Margarita7-Ingredient Almond Butter Cookies With 105 approachable and nutritious recipes for real, busy life, The Comfortable Kitchen is a must-have cookbook for everyone who cares about what they eat and what they make.

The Secrets of Top Students: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Acing High School and College


Stefanie Weisman - 2013
    But it wasn't because she was a "natural" or smarter than everyone else -- in fact, she succeeded as a student in spite of an undiagnosed learning disability. What she gradually realized was that her classmates were making mistakes, and lots of them.The Secrets of Top Students is a conversational, down-to-earth guide for high school and college students on how to maximize their learning and get the grades they want. It is full of innovative tips from Stefanie and 45 other top students -- including Rhodes scholars, Goldwater scholars, Fulbright award winners, college valedictorians, Intel Science Fair finalists, a National Spelling Bee champion, and more -- that not only work but have received little or no attention in other books. The Secrets of Top Students will appeal to students of all levels, providing them with the advice they need from a voice they can trust.The Secrets of Top Students includes tips and techniques that every student should know. For example: What is the first thing you should do when taking a math test? What is an often overlooked place for coming up with a thesis? How can you use mantras to get better grades? What music should you listen to while studying? Should you bring your laptop to class? Why is it bad to be a perfectionist? What motivates top students to achieve academic success? What foods should you eat to boost your brainpower? How can sleep, diet, and exercise affect your GPA? How much do top students really study? What are the Top 50 Tips for acing exams? How can you take killer notes? What are three game-changing learning techniques? And much, much more.

The The MindUP Curriculum: Grades PreK–2: Brain-Focused Strategies for Learning—and Living


Hawn Foundation - 2011
    Each lesson offers easy strategies for helping students focus their attention, improve their self-regulation skills, build resilience to stress, and develop a positive mind-set in both school and life. The lessons fit easily into any schedule and require minimal preparation. Classroom management tips and content-area activities help you extend the benefits of MindUP throughout your day, week, and year!Includes a full-color, innovative teaching poster with fascinating facts about the brain!

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds


David C. Pollock - 1999
    The book is rich with real-life anecdotes and examines the nature of the TCK kid experience and its effects on maturing, developing a sense of identity, and adjusting to one's passport country upon return. The authors give readers an understanding of the challenges and benefits of the TCK life and provide practical suggestions and advice on maximizing those benefits.

What Do You Say?: How to Talk with Kids to Build Stress Tolerance, Motivation, and a Happy Home


Ned Johnson - 2021
    And the conversations that you wish you could have--ones fueled by your desire to see your kid not just safe and healthy, but passionately engaged--suddenly feel nearly impossible to execute. The good news is that effective communication can be cultivated, learned, and taught. And as you get better at this, so will your kids.Johnson and Stixrud have 60 years combined experience talking to kids one-on-one, and the most common question they get when out speaking to parents and educators is: What do you say? While many adults understand the importance and power of the philosophies behind the books that dominate the parenting bestseller list, parents are often left wondering how to put those concepts into action. In What Do You Say?, Johnson and Stixrud show how to engage in respectful and effective dialogue, beginning with defining and demonstrating the basic principles of listening and speaking. Then they show new ways to handle specific, thorny topics of the sort that usually end in parent/kid standoffs: delivering constructive feedback to kids; discussing boundaries around technology; explaining sleep and their brains; the anxiety of current events; and family problem-solving. hat Do You Say? is a manual and map that will immediately transform parents' ability to navigate complex terrain and train their minds and hearts to communicate ever more successfully.

Worry-Free Money: Stop budgeting, Start Living


Shannon Lee Simmons - 2017
    Life is expensive. It doesn’t matter if you make $40,000 or $140,000 a year, it can feel like you’re constantly broke. Can you afford that new car, that vacation, that night out? You think so, but it feels impossible to know. And rigid budgets that force you to spend your money in unrealistic ways (like $9.50 per week for pants) don’t make things any clearer.But what if there was a new way to manage your money? One that left you certain you had your bases covered—both for your monthly bills and your future retirement—and then let you enjoy your money by spending it. (Yes, we just said that.)Enter Shannon Lee Simmons, a totally new voice in the world of personal finance, one who understands the new and very real pressures to survive modern life and keep up in the age of social media. Shannon doesn’t lecture, judge or patronize. The founder of the wildly popular New School of Finance, Shannon recognized that most of her thousands of clients felt broke, no matter what their income. And feeling broke can be as bad as actually being broke, because it leads to overspending and misery.Worry-Free Money takes a fresh approach to finances, looking at the root cause of the pressure to spend and showing why traditional budgets don’t work. It is a deeply practical book that will help you break the cycle of guilt, understand why you overspend and find hope—and fun—in getting your money under control.

Searching for Bobby Fischer: The Father of a Prodigy Observes the World of Chess


Fred Waitzkin - 1988
    When Fisher disappeared from public view, Waitzkin's interest waned--until his own son Josh emerged as a chess prodigy.Searching for Bobby Fischer is the story of Fred Waitzkin and his son, from the moment six-year-old Josh first sits down at a chessboard until he competes for the national championship. Drawn into the insular, international network of chess, they must also navigate the difficult waters of their own relationship. All the while, Waitzskin searches for the elusive Bobby Fischer, whose myth still dominates the chess world and profoundly affects Waitzkin's dreams for his son.