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How Children Learn

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How Children Learn
First edition
AuthorJohn Holt
LanguageEnglish
SubjectEducation
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherPitman Publishing (1967)
Delacorte Press (1983)
Perseus Publishing (1995)
Publication date
1967, 1983 (revised)
Publication placeUnited States
Pages189 (1967 ed.), 303 (1983 ed.), 320 (1995 ed.)
ISBN0-440-03835-9
OCLC8786109
370.15/23 19
LC ClassLB1060 .H64 1983

How Children Learn is a nonfiction book by educator John Caldwell Holt, first published in 1967. A revised edition was released in 1983, with new chapters and commentaries.

The book focuses on Holt's interactions with young children and his observations of children learning. From them, he attempts to make sense of how and why children do the things they do. The central thesis of his work is that children learn most effectively by their own motivation and on their own terms. He opposes teaching in general, believing that children find it just as patronizing as would an adult and that parents should provide information only as it is requested.

Children learn best when they are not pressured to learn in a way that is of no interest to them.