How Children Fail
John Holt's 1964 account of how schools teach children to fear failure.
At a glance
Key ideas
Producers, not thinkers, Reading the teacher, Fear of failure …
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- Holt draws on his own teaching and research to argue that traditional schooling harms children's ability and desire to learn.
- Children love to learn but hate to be taught; they learn to chase teacher approval and the right answer instead of understanding.
- Fear of mistakes stops them from exploring.
- He argues that praise and end-of-year tests do not produce real learning.
Why it matters
- It sold over a million copies and launched Holt's career as a leading critic of conventional schooling.
Key facts
- Author
- John Holt1
- Published
- 1964; revised edition 19821
- Sales
- Over a million copies1
- Sequel
- How Children Learn (1967)2
Key ideas
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Producers, not thinkers1
Children learn to fish for right answers instead of thinking.
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Reading the teacher1
They learn to manipulate teachers for clues to the answer.
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Fear of failure1
Fear of mistakes shuts down exploration; failure should be honourable.
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Superficial learning1
Algorithms memorised for tests are soon forgotten.
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