I was sent the book for the purpose of review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
Something I’ve talked about quite a bit on my blog is my passion for education. It is something that it is so important to both myself and Steve when it comes to children but it can be hard to always know if you are making the correct choices.
I was recently approached by Warwick Sharp, author of The Educated Guess {affiliate link}. In his day job, he works for the Department of Education and has been a teacher and a governor in the past. The book was written to help parents navigate through the education system and make good choices for their children. It is the first book in a new series about how we think about education – you can find out more on the website here.
About The Book
We live busy lives in a complex world, and we haven’t always got time to think slowly and logically through every decision we are faced with. Instead, we rely a lot on our intuition, in that subconsciously we make quick and automatic judgements based on our memories, insights and experiences. But our intuition is distorted by a whole range of thinking biases which are invisible to us.
Warwick Sharp is ideally placed to explore how this decision-making process applies to education. He has a decade of experience in education policy, has been a teacher and a governor, and has visited over 100 education institutions. In this book, Warwick draws on a huge range of research and evidence, bringing in advice and expertise from many sources.
The aim of The Educated Guess is to empower us all to spot the common biases in our thinking and, crucially, encourage us to reflect on both the short- and long-term effects of those biases. Through prominent examples, it provides insight on how to navigate the big and small choices we make in one of the most important areas of modern life: education.
My Review
Education is so important to me but it can be tough to know that you are making the right choices for your children. This book takes a look at common education myths and comes up with reasoned arguments against them.
There are so many factors to consider when it comes to education, not just the educational aspects, but it can be so easy to get influenced by just a small number of them. The author offers an insight from his own personal experiences working within this country’s education system and shows us where we can make better choices when it comes to our children’s future. It is all too easy to follow the crowd but the author challenges us to think for ourselves and work out what is right for us.
Something I love about this book is that you can tell that the author is very knowledgeable on this subject but he is very humble with it – his tone never feels patronising and is always educating and involving, rather than barking information at us.
I will say that I have definitely fallen foul in the past to some of the educational myths that go round and appreciate being enlightened now in order to make better choices for my children in the not too distant future. This book challenged the way I think and has made me more informed – showing me where I am likely to be influenced to choosing one thing rather than another.
If education is something you are passionate about and you want to challenge your thinking on the subject to make better informed choices, then this just may be the book for you.
About The Author
Warwick Sharp has a decade of experience in education policy. Before that, Warwick taught in a secondary school and had responsibility for careers provision. He has been both a school and college governor, and has visited nurseries, schools, colleges and universities up and down the country. Warwick studied economics at Cambridge and has a masters in public policy management. He lives in London with his wife Anna (whose intuitions are always better than his!)
Warwick has always been fascinated by our intuition, and the fast and automatic judgements we all make. This book combines that with what Warwick considers to be the most important and transformational area of our lives: education. Warwick wrote this book because he sees it as an opportunity to explore and share some of the main biases in our thinking which come with being human, and how they apply to education. He hopes it is empowering and uplifting, directly useful for us all as we face big education choices, and a catalyst for further material in this important space.
Soooo… how would you like the opportunity to win a copy for yourself? I am giving away three copies of the book – all you need to do is fill in the Gleam widget below. This giveaway is UK only and ends at 11.59pm on the 26th of November! Good luck.
The book looks great
i just love a good read!
Sounds like a good read.
Sounds really good
My sister in law
Ooooh sounds like a great read for a close friend of mine
This sounds like a really interesting read. I’d be interested to know about the educational myths that do the rounds!
I think this sounds like a great book for parents, to help them with the obstacles that may occur in their kid’s education.
Sounds really interesting, i would love to read this
This sounds like such an interesting read, I will definitely check it out. I have two children in main stream education and I often find myself with lots of questions or doubts about my choices so this would be fascinating to read!
I’m a home educating mum of 8 so would love to give this a read, sounds great
It sounds like a really interesting read! I’m chair of governors at my local school so I’m sure it would come in handy for that too.
It looks like a really interesting read
I love books that make me think and question my thinking
What an interesting read, my sister in law works in education so I think she’ll love to read this x
Looks a good read
An interesting book and sounds like a good one for parents who are looking at schools for their children
My mummy always wonders if her choices are the best when it comes to my education. She’s always daunted by the prospect of having to make the right decision on my future. It’s great that the book isn’t patronising too x
Looks like a great read. Both my Mother in Law and Father in Law would love this as they both work in Education.
I’m an education advisor for an NGO, managing an education project for out of school girls in Sierra Leone. This book would be really useful to inform some of the programming!
I would love to read this book. The further in school that my kids go, the more disheartened I am with the lack of real life application for what they are learning.
This looks like an interesting and informative read! It would be great to have in my collection! x
Sounds great
Im looking at schools for my daughter so this would be a brilliant read xx
Looks like an awesome read xxx
I would love to win this for my daughter. My granddaughter started Reception this year, so I think my daughter will be interested in the advice given in this book.
it looks very interesting x
it looks really interesting
I would love to win this book for my daughter. She has 4 children in education and is thinking of home schooling them. I think this book would be a useful read and would help her to make her mind up.
I would like to win this book because my husband is a teacher and I home educated one of our children for a number of years. We would both find this book very interesting to read.
This sounds a really interesting book
To be honest I’m about to meet my new partner’s children for the first time, and as they’re young have been trying to read and learn as much as possible to help me be a good potential step mum! This books sounds great for parents to read and pass behaviours and information onto their children.
I’m very passionate about my daughter’s education & keen on making sure I tailor her education to her personality etc. I advocate questioning what they learn & this would be great to get some extra tips
I like to be kept up to date / informed. Sounds like the book can get us thinking, make considered decisions.
Because it looks like a good read that I could give my Cousin.
As a teacher I myself this is a subject close to my heart
I’d love to gift this to my brother and sister in law to help them make the right educational decisions or their child, which I know they are keen to do x
I’d love to win a copy as it looks like an interesting topic.
This would be the ideal gift for my brother
sounds interesting to read
Sounds really interesting – I think I’ve slotted into accepting the norm and I’d love to challenge my own perceptions
would love to win for my daughter x