In Why Don't Students Like School? Daniel Willingham addresses a question many parents and teachers agonize over. In answering this complicated question, the cognitive scientist, who teaches at the University of Virginia, focuses on a whole range of issues: from adjusting teaching methodology to different types of learning styles, from why it is so difficult for students to grasp abstract ideas to how to teach skills at a time when standardized testing only requires students be able to parrot back facts.

If you have ever wondered why either your children or your students seem to remember everything they see on TV but forget everything you say, you'll want to read this informative book. The information Willingham shares is practical, and very useful. This is a resource parents and teachers can immediately put to good use to help improve educational practices at home or in a formal classroom setting.