The Learning Household: How to Help Your Child Get More out of School

A “warm, thoughtful” (Forbes) guide to raising creative, passionate learners, from the bestselling author of What the Best College Teachers Do. Children are eager learners. As anyone who has taken a car trip with a toddler will tell you, they have an insatiable urge to ask questions. And yet, many kids feel bored and alienated at school. What can parents do to sustain children’s natural curiosity? In The Learning Household, educators Ken Bain and Marsha Marshall Bain argue that parents can do a lot. Too often, parents emphasize grades instead of the creativity, grit, and enthusiasm necessary to navigate a rapidly changing world. At its best, school provides opportunities to cultivate ingenuity and apply knowledge to novel problems. But before children can benefit from these opportunities, parents must create a “learning household,” where children are encouraged to ask thoughtful questions, discover their passions, and take risks. Providing dozens of activities to meet the needs of every family, The Learning Household is an essential guide to bringing curiosity back to the classroom and fostering appreciation for the intrinsic value of learning.