Teach Your Own by John Holt and Pat Farenga

This book is full of parenting inspiration. I love Holt’s view of children: they’re curious, capable little creatures who are born pre-programmed for success, if only we adults don’t get in their way too much. Teach Your Own largely focuses on homeschooling (which I’m becoming more and more interested in) but is also relevant for anyone hoping to foster their children’s innate ability to learn and grow.

Most of the book is simply excerpts of letters that Holt received from parents, organized to get his point across. I thought it was an incredibly effective method, similar to what many popular business or science books do – make a point and then give lots of examples – but more enjoyable.

One nitpick is that the dual authorship could have been presented more clearly. Holt originally wrote the book several decades ago and has since passed away. Farrenga published this new edition with some content additions and changes, but largely preserving Holt’s original work. The book uses different typography for each author’s text, but it never explains the system. I figured it out after a few chapters, but it would have been nice to have a little explanatory note at the beginning.