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I WON'T LEARN FROM You: THE ROLE OF ASSENT IN LEARNING
by Herbert Kohl.
Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 1991. 47 pp. $4.95 (paper).
In a mere thirty-nine pages, Herbert Kohl provides myriad examples of why children and adults make decisions to "not-learn," to stay outside any system that threatens their integrity. Culling examples from his own experiences, as well as drawing on his long history as an educator, Kohl shows how learning to "not-learn" can actually be a positive and healthy response to a controlling and often hostile society. This small but valuable tract should be on every teacher's bookshelf; it discusses, simply and reasonably, why learning is often resisted.
Kohl starts with his own experiences as a young boy who chooses to "not-learn" Yiddish, though it would have given him entre to lively discussions in...