Press release: New book ‘Overschooled but Undereducated’

Good to see John and Heather cracking away at the nonesense of the current schooling systems. They talk a lot of sense and help the debate about educational futures immensely.

London New York www.continuumbooks.com Press Release

“Politicians really should take note. Poor beleaguered Ed Balls, in desperate need of a workable education policy, should really buy a copy of Abbott’s book, co-authored with Heather MacTaggart. Overschooled but Undereducated, the title says it all. It’s just the lesson Balls needs” Prue Leith, The Spectator

Overschooled but Undereducated. How the crisis in education is jeopardizing our adolescents John Abbott with Heather MacTaggart. Foreword by Prue Leith. November 2009 ● 9781855396234 ● £16.99 ● HB

Looking at current educational policy John Abbott explains the need for transformational change in the education system and a drastic reassessment of outdated thinking. No politician is safe in this brilliant analysis of why the education system is failing this country, and how we can shake education out of its two-century’s-old inertia.

“Overschooled but Undereducated argues that both common sense and science – specifically, new insights into how the
brain develops – should force us to overhaul our attitude to those scary teenage aliens slamming doors and grunting…
John Abbott is in his 60s. He has been passionately trying to make us see sense for 40 years. It is high time we
listened” – Prue Leith, The Spectator

“This penetrating exploration burrows through to the heart of the malaise which has stifled so much education into
the 21st century…this is not only a brilliant, lucid and erudite expose but also a provocative and bold manifesto for
change.” – Dr. Jonathan Long, Principal, United World College of India

“I’m not exaggerating at all when I say that Overschooled but Undereducated simply encapsulates and summarises all
the issues, contradictions, frustrations and worries that I’ve faced over the last 30 years” – Bernard Trafford, Chairman
of the Headmasters Conference

The basic function of education in all societies and at all times is to prepare the younger generation for the kind of adult
life which that society values, and wishes to perpetuate. By misunderstanding teenagers’  instinctive need to do things for themselves, isn’t society in danger of creating a system of schooling that so goes against the natural grain of the adolescent brain, that formal education ends up trivializing the very young people it claims to be supporting? By failing to keep up with appropriate research in the biological and social sciences, current educational systems continue to treat adolescence as a problem rather than an opportunity.

Synthesizing an array of research, gathered from many sources including a series of international conferences, Overschooled but Undereducated examines the increasing need to revolutionize the education system in England and globally. It’s simple: education has to be about preparing children to be good citizens  not merely successful pupils and become adults who will thrive at unstructured tasks. In this lies society’s best assurance of a positive future.

John Abbott is president of the 21st Century Learning Initiative, a transnational association of educational researchers and  practitioners. Following a long career as a teacher and headteacher in England, John became director of Education 2000, spearheading nine community-wide education projects in the UK. He lectures around the world on new understandings about learning and is the author of several books.

Heather MacTaggart is the Executive Director of Classroom Connections in Canada, and has worked with John for four
years across Canada from the Maritimes through to British Columbia.

For more information, interview or review requests, contact:
Jennifer Tighe ● Marketing and Sales Executive Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 0925; Email: jtighe@continuumbooks.com
For more information on the 21st Century Learning Initiative please visit: www.21learn.org
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