Educating: A Memoir

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MacSweeney, Eve. "Tara Westover's Educated Is Already Being Hailed as the 'Next Hillbilly Elegy' ". Vogue . Retrieved July 25, 2020.

Michael FD Young (Ed) – Knowledge and Control: New Directions for the Sociology of Education (1971)Westover decided to write the book after she confronted her parents about her brother's abuse, and the resulting conflict led to her becoming estranged from some members of her family. She began searching for stories to help her understand what had happened. In 2018, she told The New York Times, "I wrote the book I wished I could have given to myself when I was losing my family. When I was going through that experience, I became aware of how important stories are in telling us how to live — how we should feel, when we should feel proud, when we should feel ashamed. I was losing my family, and it seemed to me that there were no stories for that — no stories about what to do when loyalty to your family was somehow in conflict with loyalty to yourself. And forgiveness. I wanted a story about forgiveness that did not conflate forgiveness with reconciliation, or did not treat reconciliation as the highest form of forgiveness. In my life, I knew the two might always be separate. I didn't know if I would ever reconcile with my family, and I needed to believe that I could forgive, regardless." [5] In response to her daughter’s therapy sessions, LaRee feels there’s a “high likelihood the therapist was manipulating her memories” (p. 290). According to Tara’s account, both car accidents occurred while returning home from Arizona visits to Grandma. At Val’s insistence, they leave late in the day, causing drowsiness while driving. In the first incident. Val was at the wheel. The second time, one of his sons was at the wheel. Also having just read Educated and ended up here by curiosity, I am left totally overwhelmed by the book and the life story that it tells.

The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education (Hardcover) Aunt Debbie: Faye's estranged sister. After Westover distanced herself from her family, Debbie accepted her and Tyler with open arms. She helped Westover get her passport so she could study abroad. The family is definitely intelligent! They’re also hard workers. The combination can be a great force. I honestly wish them well going forward and hope they might resolve some of their issues. I don’t know them personally. I and my housemate/best friend are reading “Educated” aloud, one chapter per night, right now. We are about halfway through the book. We’re just taking it in, without judgement, and with a tiny grain of salt because we both know (we are in our 60’s) that memories are … shaded? … colorized? … at best. And we’re OK with that.I do feel strongly that Val Westover has temper, control issues and untreated mental health issues. He now owns the business his wife and daughter started. The first thing you see in his wife’s memoir is his prologue. The letter I received (image above) is signed by him, not even a mutual signature. Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through The Dark World of Compulsory Schooling (Hardcover) What of more modern works? I used to recommend the “blistering indictment” of the flight from traditional liberal education that is Melanie Phillips’s All Must Have Prizes, to be read alongside Tom Bentley’s Learning Beyond the Classroom: Education for a Changing World, which is a defence of a wider view of learning for the “learning age”. These two books defined the debate in the 1990s between traditional education by authoritative teachers and its rejection in favour of a new learning in partnership with students. In this eminently readable book, Willingham takes findings from cognitive science and applies them to the classroom in a straightforward and practical way. A central claim in this book is that while we are naturally curious, we are not naturally good at thinking and can only truly think about things we know. It also contains one of the best lines ever to feature in a book on education: “Memory is the residue of thought.” The Hidden Lives of Learners by Graham Nuthall Elkins, Kathleen (December 3, 2018). "Bill Gates says these are the 5 best books he read in 2018". CNBC . Retrieved July 25, 2020.

Tara was finally issued a Delayed Certificate of Birth when she was nine. Even then, there was a discrepancy on her birth date that had to be corrected. Her brother’s birth date was uncertain as well. Except for a tiny mention that you almost miss, LaRee doesn’t explain the why behind not getting birth certificates. Tara says it’s because her father suddenly decided to end his personal “ten-year policy of not registering with the Government” (p. 19). Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life (Hardcover) My comment is not about anything anyone else wrote about – I carefully read all the other comments first before writing this – but about a term that is used as though it is interchangeable, and it’s kinda not.

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As a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I will tell you unequivocably that “Mormanism” is NOT a cult. Five chapters are specifically devoted to these topics, in one form or another. These career choices are an important part of LaRee’s life, and she chooses to discuss them in great detail. LaRee does provide evidence in her memoir that she educated her children. She, herself, is educated. I think that trying to educate a lot of children PLUS perform midwife duties for too many years was simply too much. Perhaps her earlier children received an adequate home education. I don’t know. But I believe Tara when she says she did not receive much education at home. I simply don’t think LaRee was around enough to do it and was probably worn out. Those aren’t excuses, in my opinion. I believe they are further evidence that her later children weren’t taught adequately. The accounts will always vary. Siblings have very different views on situations. It’s normal because there isn’t one truth. There are experiences based on your age, the moment you appeared on during an event, etc. The stories would rarely line up completely. What is clear is the abuse inflicted on the family due to the father’s personality and mental illness. He has harmed many people both intentionally and accidentally. The mother followed his lead. So sad. I’m so happy Tara has so many people in her life who stood by her and pointed to another way for her…starting with her brother. I’m so glad she questions things and has a fighting spirit. It’s so unfortunate that she was given a safe space to also be loved and calm. She has made great use of her high intelligence. Stefanie Westover: Tyler's wife. She helps him transition into the larger world. She supports Tyler when he confronts his parents about Shawn's abuse of Westover.