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And the Skylark Sings with Me (PDF)
Adventures in Homeschooling and Community-Based Education
Acting on their conviction that to educate a child well is to enable her to find her destiny, David Albert and his partner Ellen listened carefully, with respect and with love, to how their children expressed their own learning needs. Leaving traditional homeschooling methods behind, they followed their daughters' unique knowledge quests-from astronomy and botany, to opera and mythology-and then went about finding the resources and opportunities to meet those needs within their community.
Gracefully written, And the Skylark Sings with Me passionately illustrates that real learning is much richer and more mysterious than any school can encompass.
David Albert is a storyteller, writer, and senior planner and policy analyst with the Washington State Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and a contributor to Spinning Tales, Weaving Hope. Albert lives with his family in Olympia, Washington. He has written several books, including And the Skylark Sings With Me, The Healing Heart-Family and The Healing Heart-Community.
"In this clear and often magical account of how David and Ellen helped their kids find ways to take charge of their own education, a universal lesson is written: real learning is much richer and more mysterious than any school can encompass, and institutional habits, rules, and assumption — which usually masquerade as scientific pedagogy — are an enormous handicap to growing up whole. Albert's intense thoughtfulness about every aspect of waking up to full humanity is a treat you should not miss."
John Taylor Gatto, former New York State and 3-Time New York City Teacher of the Year; author, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
"An utterly fascinating critique of American education, as well as a joyous celebration of the creative potential in every child."
Anthony Manousas, Friends Bulletin
"This invigorating adventure story is about more than homeschooling and community-based education. It is about honoring our appetite for what is real. It is about drawing out the innate creativity and brilliance of a child. And that's good news for the child within each of us."
Joanna Macy, author, Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World
"David Albert's And the skylark sings with me is a beautifully told story about how he and his wife are raising their daughters outside of conventional schooling, and the amazing results that they see unfolding before them. Albert's careful descriptions of what he and his wife do to nurture, support, and direct their children's learning will give heart to parents worried that before they can help their children learn about wolves, astronomy, biology, nature, math, and music — to name a few of the subjects covered — they must become certified teachers". A joyous and memorable book!"
Pat Farenga, President, Holt Associates, publisher, Growing Without Schooling
"We are tempted to say that And the skylark sings with me is of the greatest value to all homeschoolers. That would be a mistake. This articulate and moving description of care and love in education is of the greatest value to all parents and educators. May the inspiration in this book enter our hearts and minds as we honor children and life."
Sambhava and Josette Luvmour, Encompass: The Center for Natural Learning Rhythms, Nevada City, CA
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