Reclaiming Childhood Letting Children Be Children in Our Achievement-Oriented Society

by Crain, William

• ISBN13: 9780805071542
• ISBN10: 0805071547
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-02-06
• Publisher: Times Books

Summary

In Reclaiming Childhood, child-development expert William Crain argues that the greatest gifts that we can bestow on our children include a strong sense of self, and enthusiasm for learning, the ability to think independently and creatively, and the confidence to explore the world. Rather than trying to control and direct children's learning, we should give them opportunities to develop their natural artistic, poetic, dramatic and linguistic capacities, and to form deep bonds with the natural world. Informed by a wealth of child-development research and social insight, Reclaiming Childhood is essential reading for all parents who want the best for their children. It offers helpful advice and much-needed indicators of the child's natural development, along with descriptions of how schools can promote a natural love of learning. Reclaiming Childhood provides an important antidote to the excessive pressures on children today.

Author Biography

William C. Crain, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist, author, and social activist. A professor of psychology at the City College of New York, he is the author of a major textbook in the field. His 1997 article in Montessori Life magazine, "How Nature Helps Children Develop," was a finalist in the 1998 EdPress Award for excellence in educational journalism. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

"In an age when high-stakes testing and high-stress lives dominate the headlines, William Crain reminds us evocatively of a precious, irreplaceable time-the 100,000 hours of childhood."
-Howard Gardner