The Aptitude Myth examines prevailing American beliefs about children, learning, schooling, and parenting. Where did they come from? And do they have any scientific basis? Join Dr. Grove as he answers these questions by digging into the historical record to reveal how these ancient beliefs came to undermine American children’s learning today.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Cornelius N. Grove‘s mission has been to explain to Americans the historical and cultural reasons for their children’s comparatively mediocre performance in schools.
In The Aptitude Myth, he reveals the deep historical origins of Americans’ belief that children’s inborn abilities, rather than their effort and determination, are largely responsible for their levels of school performance. Dr. Grove’s search for origins took him all the way back to ancient Greece! Subtitle: How an Ancient Belief Came to Undermine Children’s Learning Today. You are now visiting this book’s website.
In The Drive to Learn (2017), he explores half of the cultural explanation for why American children’s learning in school is not as successful as that of their East Asian peers. This half examines differences in the values and activities of parental child-raising in the United States and East Asia. Subtitle: What the East Asian Experience Tells Us about Raising Students Who Excel. Visit TheDriveToLearn.info.
In A Mirror for Americans (2020), Dr. Grove reveals the other half of the cultural explanation for why our children’s school learning has always been eclipsed by their East Asian peers’ learning. This half probes differences in the values and activities of classroom teaching in the pre- and primary schools of the U.S. and East Asia. Subtitle: What the East Asian Experience Tells Us about Teaching Students Who Excel. Visit AMirrorForAmericans.info.
READERS FEEDBACK
I want you to know how impressed I am with The Aptitude Myth. The review of the history which led to the current state of American education was comprehensive in scope and extremely well written. The assertions in the concluding chapter present a clear challenge for both educators and parents to rethink the way children learn and to restructure learning environments to ensure children achieve the “mastery” of critical skills and knowledge which this book articulates so well. Cornelius Grove has authored an important book that all educators should read, and I have highly recommended it to many of those I worked with before my retirement. I congratulate Grove on writing such a valuable book for all who are interested in making real change in education today.