About this Book

Here is a book that looks at schools from the inside, from the point of view of a classroom teacher who has spent a career trying to understand how schools work and don't work.

In a collection of short reflections, the author describes some of the dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours that diminish learning and hurt children.

The Dysfunctional School is a call to all adults responsible for the care of young people to question the traditional approaches of what Michael Reist refers to as "factory schooling."

"The processes of school have lead to the loss of the love of learning in most students. If you go into any kindergarten class, you will see a hive of enthusiasm for learning a sea of hands raised for every question posed by the teacher. Fast forward to the grade 12 class. You see stress, fear, apathy and "acting out." What has happened in between? School has happened."

"Institutions become dysfunctional when they do not accomplish the purposes for which they were created. Schools were created to be places of true learning, places where the true natures of children would be allowed to grow and flourish. By this definition, there are too many students for whom school is not working.'" - from The Dysfunctional School