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I strongly recommend the book "The Scientist in the Crib"  It manages to
be a history of research on child development, a primer on the state of
the art, and a resource book for parents in one engaging package.  It's
one of our standard baby gifts to our geek friends.  It also posits one
of my favorite theories:  All children begin life as scientists, it's
programmed in, so it's not that some specially gifted children grow up
to be scientists, but that scientists are a group of people who never
really grew up, who never had that innate behavior trained out of them.

Dave Smith, Da Vinci Center

-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Amanda Chesworth
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2005 9:52 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: education/childhood theories


ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
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*****

I was just looking through books at amazon in hopes of finding sweeping
histories of "theories" on the child, childhood, education; it's purpose
and practice, etc., and I was surprised to find very little. I wanted to
compare and contrast the ideas like "original sin," "blank slate,"
"oedipus complex/penis envy," "behavioralism," "a child should be seen
and not heard," the role of daughters vs. sons, the role of children as
laborers,
11+ exams in Britian, Montessori, Piaget, Dr. Spock,  and so on. But 
11+ instead
of having to read one book on each, I was hoping to find some sort of
historical look at all. Like the brilliant Roy Porter does for medicine,
madness, and the enlightement.

Can anyone suggest resources?

Thanks,
Amanda

***
Amanda Chesworth, Educational Director
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
www.csicop.org www.inquiringminds.org Skeptical Inquirer Magazine
www.skepticalinquirer.org

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