Passion-Driven Education: How to Use Your Child's Interests to Ignite a Lifelong Love of Learning

It makes me cry

To think that I have homeschooled so many years and missed out on so many opportunities to ignite my children’s passion driven education. It makes me want to cry to think of all these children in the public schools who are learning to hate education. I fear I have to some degree caused my own children to hate learning. But that is going to change. We will do more unschooling and focus on their passions. I have read and done what I can to follow a Thomas Jefferson education model. But my children often get bored with the reading and are not listening when I read. I have tried to follow what I thought was best, but Connor has opened my eyes to the fact that I need to have faith in my children’s ability to find their own passions and to allow them to be anything! Not just what I see as educational. I need to have faith that I will be able to figure out how to help turn their seemingly uneducational passions into an amazing path of discovery. There is so much we can learn about everything out there. There is so much we just don’t know. Thank you Connor for helping me see in such a short book how to help my children and myself. I am in tears.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good principles in action

Any additional comments?

I love the principles of love, freedom, learning, empowerment, trust and faith expressed in Passion-Driven Education. Boyack also provides case-studies which prove the efficacy of those principles. It's inspired me to more seriously pursue my own passion-driven education and provide the right environment and guidance for my children to learn and grow. My wife is excited to read it now that I'm done.

Reading this little gem reminded me of the sentiments expressed by Albert Einstein:

"Curiosity is a delicate little plant that, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom."

"I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn."

"Play is the highest form of research."

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good

This is very close to how I feel about my own children's education. I'm glad other feel the same way. I hope to implement the methods spoken of in this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Compelling ideas, a little redundant

I love the premise of the book. I agree that leveraging a child's passion to find a common jump off point for learning all other material is a powerful way to teach. The only problem is that the actual proposal and implementation of Passion-driven Education takes up just over a chapter. All the rest of the material is trying to convince me that the current system is ineffective and detrimental to true learning.

If I were reading this with the intent of changing my mind about the current education model, this would have been extremely powerful. I was already convinced.

And I really admire Connor for going all out and narrating this after he authored it but there was a noticeable difference between Connor's voice and a professional narrator. Still, he's very concise in his reading and uses a good, steady tempo that allowed me to listen at a faster speed setting.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Insightful and inspiring!

This is a must-listen/read for all parents and educators. I will be revisiting this book often as I work to give my daughter a "Passion-Driven Education"!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Beautiful Book

I could read/listen to this book every day and learn something new every time. I think I will actually!

amazing book if you care about your kids education

amazing book if you care about your kids education and future. exciting to know that there is always a way to further hack an education

I love this book!

This book helped give me a deeper understanding of what I have been studying over the last 8 years. this is exactly what I needed at this moment.

Insightful!

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book to be be honest. but it was just what I needed at this point in our homeschool journey! I have 5 kids. All with different passions, learning styles, you name it! This book really helped put learning and teaching in to perspective for me. As a product of the public school system I never found a passion for learning until I was an adult and had the freedom to pick and choose. This book helped me realize how easy and important it is to encourage that passion at a young age rather than wait until they are full grown! It really makes you realize how our public school system is short changing our children, and ultimately stifling their great potential. I consider this a MUST READ for any parent!

Revealing & compelling

There must be a way out of here.... Great insight into the origin & aim of compulsory education. This was in passing, then an overview of other alternative methods. Topped off with the challenge of liberation, unschooling, freedom for a child's natural curiosity & wonder for learning to never die. The bonus, closer family ties & experience in fulfillment.