Book Review: Wounded by School: Recapturing the Joy in Learning and Standing Up to the Old School Culture by Kirsten Olson

Over a ten-year investigation, author Kirsten Olson defined the damaging gaps in the U.S. education system. Here, through personal case-studies, she shares the intimate stories of people who were indeed wounded by their school experiences.

Those with a lifelong love of learning may be surprised at the portrayal of our school system as outdated, lackluster, and forcing conformity. Yet that is exactly why Wounded By School exists: to create awareness of the shame and blame many learners suffer for the sake of conformity.

Among the damages done to many students in the traditional education system, the wounds Olson describes include: a loss of pleasure in learning, compliance, rebellion, underestimation, perfection, and the sad wounds parents experience when they feel helpless about their child’s education troubles.

Through Wounded By School, you’ll learn how to stop dysfunctional and outmoded methods that castigate teachers when learning fails and inhibit learning development.

Wounded By School was written to help any current or former student who feels wounded by school, is reluctant to learn, or has trouble with traditional learning methods. It is a guide for teachers who feel frustrated and isolated in the system — and for parents who work to keep their children intellectually challenged and treated fairly. Often these parents' efforts at involvement are both welcomed and pushed away by the administration.

Over and over, the book’s case studies illustrate children with difficulty being understood and receiving accommodation. Sometimes incompetent teaching is a fault, but often the efforts of schools to “sort and track” students is at greater fault

Olson demonstrates how much of the problem with the American school system stems from the "No Child Left Behind Act," especially as it relates to motivation, choice and self-direction. “We seem to have almost totally lost sight of the importance of pleasure, inspiration, connection, the experience of wholeness in our current vision of educational improvement,” she says.

Article Author: Helen Gallagher

Helen Gallagher reviews non-fiction books and shares insights when attending author and publishing events on Chicago's North Shore. She is a national speaker on technology, writing and publishing. She's a member of American Society of Journalists & …

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