Learning by Heart

An Unconventional Education

De: Tony Wagner

Narrado por: Tony Wagner

“A page turner. With candor and clarity, Tony Wagner tells the story of his remarkable life and, in so doing, tells the story of our education system.”
—Angela Duckworth, Founder and CEO, Character Lab, and New York Times bestselling author of Grit

One of the world's top experts on education delivers an uplifting memoir on his own personal failures and successes as he sought to become a good learner and teacher.

Tony Wagner is an eminent education specialist: he has taught at every grade level from high school through graduate school; worked at Harvard; done significant work for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and speaks across the country and all over the world. But before he found his success, Wagner was kicked out of middle school, expelled from high school, and dropped out of two colleges. Learning by Heart is his powerful account of his years as a student and teacher.

After struggling in both roles, he learned to create meaningful learning experiences despite the constraints of conventional schooling--initially for himself and then for his students--based on understanding each student's real interests and strengthening his or her intrinsic motivations. Wagner's story sheds light on critical issues facing parents and educators today, and reminds us that trial and error, resilience, and respect for the individual, are at the very heart of all teaching and learning.

Magnificent!

What an amazing, heartfelt, beautiful journey, and to hear it directly from the author's mouth such a pleasure! Tony brought every scene into exquisite view with his extraordinary ability to paint a vivid picture for the audience. He had me shaking my head, smiling, laughing, or wanting to cry throughout the story that I couldn't put down and didn't want to end. Three cheers for proving the mole wrong on so many levels. Thank you for your inspiration to educators as well as parents! It's so amazing to feel like I've gained both a friend and mentor after reading this book!

Inspiring story, beautifully told!

As a teacher striving to provide the most meaningful educational experiences for my students, I have been interested in Tony Wagner's work for years. His books The Global Achievement Gap and Most Likely to Succeed have been of tremendous benefit to my thinking about curriculum and the purpose of school, so when I came across this memoir I couldn't wait to listen to it.

And LEARNING BY HEART doesn't disappoint. It is Wagner's portrait of the artist as a young man, recounting his experiences with learning and school from childhood to mid-early adulthood. As a curious, perceptive, and independently motivated young person, Wagner was often underwhelmed by what the schools he attended taught and prioritized, and his account of his school days will resonate with anyone who's ultimately been disappointed by their academic institutions. But even as his schooling generally failed him, Wagner's education flourished with opportunities — from unconventional teachers, summer camps, and colleges — to pursue what was of interest to him and design ambitious projects to demonstrate his learning. (In the second half of the work, Wagner explores how practicing similar approaches in his own classroom led to his success as a teacher.) Those familiar with Wagner's works on education will trace from his experiences the origin of many of his beliefs about school and (to borrow a phrase from Wagner's friend and collaborator Ted Dintersmith) what school could be.

I loved listening to Wagner read this audiobook. As the author, he knows the story best, and his voice has a warmth, a clearness, and an inflection that made this one of the best Audible experiences in the dozens of titles I own.

A gem of a memoir, and not just for educators

The early days of the pandemic had me walking and walking, listening to music, podcasts, books.
One of the most memorable audio books I listened to is Tony Wagner's memoir Learning By Heart: An Unconventional Education.
I generally enjoy memoirs when they are well written, and this is a gem. Hearing it read by the author made it come exquisitely alive.
Wagner's story is not your typical educator's trajectory. He shares his painful struggles as a student in middle, high school and college, bringing me close to tears as I heard about the insensitivity and ineptness of some of the teachers he had along the way.
What was so very moving, exhilarating really, was hearing how he continued to persevere ~ seeking out wise and passionate teachers who challenged, inspired and mentored him, helping him become the world-class teacher, author and educational consultant he is today, someone we would all benefit from listening to.
If you are a teacher, parent, student, or anyone who needs to feel some hope that one can make education a meaningful and joyful experience, do, please, listen to Learning By Heart.

Inspiring!!

I am inspired by learning the experiences that shaped the teaching philosophy of someone I admite. So many powerful connections. Thank you Tony!

A great story of a great educator

A great reminder they the work educators do is hard, but so very worth it. Love that Tony reads the book. Really enjoyed his story.