John Holt

John Holt and His Educational Philosophy

John Holt, the American educator, was passionate about the need for alternatives to traditional institutional schooling, seeing schools as often hindering children from learning rather than helping them; he became an important proponent of homeschooling or unschooling, was a pioneer in youth rights theory and had a profound influence on school reform in particular and educational philosophy in general.

Challenging Holt's Ideas

Here, Roland Meighan challenges the often held notion that Holt's work was romantic and impractical within the context of compulsory schooling. He brings together the work and thinking of John Holt into applicable theory for education students, enabling readers to appreciate the view that individuals outside the education system can influence and change what is happening within it.