The Illusion of School
The book every Teacher and every Parent should read.
Do you worry about your child in school?
Do you wish to help your students learn better?
Have you ever wondered why too many children actually fail in school today?
In a book that took many years of research and with hands-on-experience, Roy clearly explains why school fails our children and provides excellent advice with tips that every parent and teacher should know of – if w are to give our children a better canoe in their life after school.
This is an important book that should be read by every parent and educator in the world. It represents a real breakthrough in our understanding of how children are schooled in they preparation for work and life. The book explains exactly what is wrong with school and what we could do to better prepare the child of today for the different demands that will be placed upon them in the their working and social life – as they move ever more into a world increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence.
Prof / Dean Emeritus David Martin. Ph.D Gallaudet University. Washington. D.C. USA
What the experts say:
Roy’s series of books clearly and methodically map out exactly how students learn. He isn’t afraid to address head-on the many misconceptions that are plaguing our society and thus having a negative impact on our students’ learning. Parents and educators who read these books will not only have a better understanding, but will also be inspired to change in their attitudes and preconceived notions on how students can excel in their learning. If you’ve ever wanted to unravel how student’s learn, then these books are the answer you have been looking for! They should be mandatory reading for every parent and educator.
Erin Calhoun. National Institute of Learning Development. USA
Roy Andersen’s deep understanding of children’s behavior gives a new perspective to parents and educators in directing and re-directing student potentials — where their unique individualities can be given proper attention to shape their creative ideas into reality. Andersen’s books are really a heart touching narration of his experiences in dealing with children who need empathy and understanding. Educators and parents alike may use these books as the basis for learning — to create a genuine culture of assisting children in the optimum development of their full potential.
Prof. Marinel Dayawon Ph.D. Assoc.Dean of Education. Isabela State Univ. Philippines.
“Your observations on the way “education” is delivered, and all the things that are wrong with the current model of public education, are an eye-opener. It’s plain to me that many of your proposals are not only well-reasoned, but absolutely necessary if we are to achieve any semblance of an egalitarian society in which every child can develop to his or her full potential.”
Ms Sara Lappi. Educator. USA.
https://www.amazon.com/Illusion-School-Reason-Children-Fail/dp/B0BW2GGFMJ
Page Samples
Example A:
“Why don’t all children gain top marks?
All, if not most parents want this for their child. All, if not most employers desire the school to provide future workers being more competent and more adjustable to learn new skills, by demonstration of higher grades. All, if not most teachers wish their students would respond in the right ways at the right times to give all top marks, but they don’t. Students vary in their effort, interests, drives and abilities. Governments and private individuals have invested enormous amounts of money, time and energy to create better learning environments in the expectation if not hope that students will learn better and gain better grades, but they don’t. Education discovers new gurus to inspire teachers with new methods to make learning better. Teachers like these. Students like them, but no change in ability is witnessed. Students still vary as they always have done in a class with one or two knowing the correct answers when asked and always gaining the top marks, with the rest varying from good to poor in their responses.
Throughout 12 years of schooling, I was one of the worst in my class. I never understood what I did wrong to always gain low marks and seemingly more red scribbles than anyone else. At 17, I failed all my final examinations. Yet, I went back to education at 19 and was a tremendous success. Since then and in different guises, I have struggled over the past 40 years to find out what is wrong with the ways school operates. My motivation was that I never wanted one child to fail as I had done. I created this to be my life’s mission. It took me decades to really discover what is wrong with school. In this book, I share my findings with you.
One of the first things we need to realise is that despite the opinions of various educationalists, the educational service works on the principle that student ability is in one part their drive and effort and in the other their natural ability. This is to say the genetic quality of intelligence the student inherited through their family line.
If I were to tell you right now that I have discovered this to be wrong and that student ability has nothing to do with whatever intelligence we assume an individual has, at least normally born children, and that ability in school is dependent upon the state of the mind, you may find this to be questionable. However, if I were to explain that by the state of the mind, I mean how the mind drives the neurons into relationships and how the chemistry of neurotransmitters are orchestrated to facilitate better connections or to hinder them, you may be more willing to consider my argument. There again, if I were to explain to you that learning is not brain ability, but of the mind continually trying to satisfy its two basic survival instincts:
- Am I safe?
- What is the most interesting thing for me at this moment?
and that these independently or working together cause the mind to focus or de-focus on the learning expected of the student, you may be more inclined to wonder if I am right.
To convince you more, I would tell you that when students give different responses and gain different grades, we assume this to be due to their effort and intelligence. After all, we do too often state “She’s really intelligent.” when we think of the girl who always gives the right answer in the right way. We also witness a teacher shouting at a student in their class, stating “You are so stupid.” In both of these, we are wrong. The estimation we have of an individual’s intelligence has nothing to do with their academic learning and so their performance in a class with all the marks and grades that come with this.
School, I discovered, works on two languages. These are mathematics and the language used for normal communication in the school, be this English, French, Chinese or Arabic. These languages work upon rules, a never ending construction of rules. If the student is able to…..”
Example B:
Section on Bullying.
“ ….. The sad reality is that without being educated about the real harm they are doing and will be responsible for, the bully is likely to continue to disturb the mind of their victim throughout the whole of that academic year. The greater reality is that even if their presence has gone, their ghost will be likely to continue to interfere in the operation of their victim’s brain for many, many years!
Graph shows how attention shifts as ghost of fear re-emerges in the mind.
Therefore, when such a troubled student is in their lessons, they cannot be calm enough to be sensitive to things that interest them, or to a teacher trying to explain the meaning of some point. They can grasp at things, but their mind is too erratic to follow detail. It is constantly searching for and analyzing possible danger. In the classroom or with homework, this means the student does not see the connection of things easily and gains a poor understanding of what is happening. As one lesson builds upon another, their ability to learn is restricted by what they understood previously. As time passes, their marks go down, their grades fall, and eventually they leave school unable to achieve the dream they once had…..”
Available in Kindle, Paperback and Hardback
https://www.amazon.com/Illusion-School-Reason-Children-Fail/dp/B0BW2GGFMJ