David Elkind, not Raymond Moore
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Books on 12 May 2010.
For some odd reasons, searches for “Raymond Moore’s book The Hurried Child” find their way to this blog. Well, I thought I ought to do everyone a service by correcting an unfortunate error:
David Elkind wrote The Hurried Child
Raymond Moore wrote Better Late than Early
I suppose people get these authors and their books mixed up because they appear to share similar ideas about not hurrying a child before her time, and these experts get quoted a lot.
Dr David Elkind has written a number of books (Miseducation, All Grown Up and Nowhere to Go, The Power of Play, etc) that explores almost similar themes and his books have had considerable influence on my thinking as a homeschooling parent. Dr Elkind isn’t a homeschool advocate per se, but he believes a child is put at risk if she is schooled formally before she is developmentally ready – that would be around 7 or 8 years. It is unfortunate that Dr Elkind’s voice continues to be drowned by the cacophony of peddlers of early learning methodologies and systems.
Dr Raymond Moore on the other hand is arguably one of the earliest pioneers and advocates of the homeschooling movement. Together with his wife Dorothy, Dr Moore authored research that pretty much launched homeschooling as a viable and credible alternative to formal education in schools. The Moores themselves believe a child should begin formal education around 8 to 10 or even 12 years. Their books ( including School Can Wait, The Successful Homeschooling Family Handbook) have become favourite go-to tomes for homeschoolers the world over, and their Moore Formula for home education has assisted many families who chose to educate their children at home.
2 Comments so far...
Heather Says:
17 June 2010 at 6:05 am.
I can sort of see how people would mix these up. I love both of them! I was actually looking for info on Dr. Moore when I stumbled on your blog… I have fond memories of him and his wife. I met them at a homeschool event in the mid 80′s when I was a girl!
DAVID BC TAN Says:
17 June 2010 at 9:15 pm.
Yes, Dr Elkind and Dr Moore do have profound things to say about the way we bring up children. Thanks for visiting.
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