A MASTERPIECE. ASSUREDLY THE BEST BOOK OF 2019.

Undoubtedly the best book I have read in many, many years. I read/listen to around 5-6 books a month. Marsden is one of the greatest authors of our time. His experience as a principal is invaluable. As a parent of 4 young children and a teacher of year 5, I wish I could make this compulsory reading for all the parents at my school (and every other school in the country). A masterpiece.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

John Marsden you're a superstar

I have been training adults for years and the insights that John delivers on educating the young work just as well with adults, thanks for a fantastic reference point, on how and why people do the things they do and how they learn.
I rate this equally to my favourite "How to win friends and influence people"

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Love this book

I’ve read this three times. I just love his wisdom, his stories, his tenacity. It’s sometimes hard to read, like looking in a mirror and seeing something you didn’t want to see in yourself. But i had to hear it and be explained why it’s not helpful. I assumed he got a Doctorate for this. Should get one if he hasn’t already.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A book for all parents & educators

Many parents & educators will find John Marsden's words offensive, but I found them inspiring, as he has an honest, no-holding-back way of telling it like he sees it - our children are floundering & we need a new look at our public education system. I found most of what the author believes in was supported by sound reasoning but I had the odd cringe at his brutal honesty of some school policies & parenting styles.
In an ideal world we would probably all like to send our children to a school like his, but this is far from possible in most of this country. We have to make the best of the systems (private & public) that we are presented with, but good sensible parenting can go along way to alleviating the problems of a less than perfect school system & this is where I found the book most inspiring - his advice via examples on modern parenting. We have a huge population of anxious children & we need to take steps to generate more resilience in our young people & a lot of John's suggestions & philosophy will help achieve this.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Intellectually judgmental, but right.

This book wanders away from topic periodically, usually into politics and literature, but even these wanderings are interesting. At times, John Marsden comes across as somewhat egocentric and jaded and this book feels like an opportunity to verbally bash different groups of people, but as a whole the book is most definitely worth reading.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

it may be a confirmation bias. I totally 98% it

best book in a long time. 98% great the other 2 have given ome a alot to think

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

does this guy even have kids?

Returned it as the sancrimonius tone and highly dense biblical and other historical references never got to the point it seemed. I skipped through ti find a point. dont blame the parents blame the teachers to which this author is one and boars kids and now me the parent to death. who is also highly educated btw and cannot stand fluffy language to pad out a book. get to the point already! 1 star it does not deserve. parents are too busy to listen to a lecture and that is what this is.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

not an easy read

too much negativity and could not bring myself to continue listening to the remainder 9f the book.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

One man's opinions

John Marsden is clearly a master of the English language but that also clearly doesn't make him a master educator. This book is his ramblings and opinions based on nothing but his own anecdotal experiences and arguments with parents. He never even attempts to back up anything he claims with research or evidence and places an inordinate amount of significance on a child's sexual development on their overall well-being. An overall disappointing read when I was hoping for insights into his teaching philosophy at his school... Give it a miss.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Growing includes more than going to School.

I did not feel the title of the book represents its context. This book talks about schools and some of the pros and cons within the school and educational institution. I didn’t find the story to be insightful or provide new ideas around schooling that haven’t been explored else were. However the schools the author founded sound like great schools and I would love to see more with similar principles.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful