Member Reviews
Top notch fun reading! Fantastic fast read/listen. Fully enjoyed each snippet of advice and what we should have been taught in school.
This is a good audiobook. However, a reading speed of 1.0x almost sent me into a coma. It is challenging to maintain focus at that speed. I increased the reading speed to 1.25x or more. There is an echo back when I played the book at speeds faster than 1.25x. The entire reading experience is very nostalgic. I associated a real-life encounter with every topic discussed. Chapters three and four made me feel like I was reading or listening to a self-help book, unimpressive. I'm not too fond of self-help books because they frequently make the reader believe they are not self-motivated, unhappy, or incapable of independent thinking. When in fact, many readers are the opposite, highly self-motivated, very happy, and independent-thinkers. I hoped to learn something new, and it didn’t happen. Again, I felt nostalgic while listening to the rest of the book. There is a good deal of information in this book I learned early on in life through social interactions with parents, teenage friends, and during my first year of college. The rest of the book provides information on gender, class, backgrounds, being kind, repairing relationships, moods, emotional maturity/literacy in relationships, children cannot give up on adults, choosing the right partner in a relationship, dating, and much more. I do recommend this audiobook to others wanting to better understand themselves.
I want to like The School of Life. I like the school’s creator, Alain De Botton. I thoroughly loved his book, The Architecture of Happiness. I had previously read their book on relationships.
Unfortunately, despite thoughtful ideas, I found these book tedious. To me, they seem pedantic and condescending. Since they are written by the school, they lack a narrative voice. They are written as if every human experience is universal. This may be true. But I find specificity to be the best way to reach that universality. Instead, these are written so broadly and generally that it just feels like a fortune cookie to me.
Ultimately, the information is good, but the presentation is lacking for me.
It was fine. Many of the lessons felt quite self explanatory but general. Overall however it was and enjoyable read and gave good advice.
Sometimes it's easier to hear the truth or an idea than it is to read about it.
This audio book shares the wisdom of growth and maturity for young adults, and maybe older adults as well. All you have to do is listen.
The narration was good and the information was mostly interesting. A lot of it was common sense but this could be a great little book for younger people.
I had never heard of The School of Life prior to this audiobook, but they certainly have my attention now. This book will help adults begin to come to terms with a life that has not been going according to Plan A, and would make a great additon to a graduation gift bundle. The narrator's voice is soothing and gentle, as if stroking your soul and telling listeners that it's not too late to change the plan and learn to be a better adult. I look forward to seeing more work from The School of Life!
This lovely little book is just bursting with knowledge. It’s a collection of the essential emotional lessons that we need in order to thrive in life. The chapters, which I’ll dive into a little, include, You Don’t Need Permission, Listen to the Adult Within, Love Yourself, Be Free, and There is No Destination, to name a few. What would it mean to break the mould? What would it mean to finally leave school? These are the questions asked at the beginning of What They Forgot to Teach You at School. Reading What They Forgot to Teach You at School has been a good reminder, drawing my attention again to those unhelpful thought patterns, that need for self-love, and the get the heck back down to earth reality check that there is no perfect destination.
Full review: https://www.avocadodiaries.com/2021/05/what-they-forgot-to-teach-you-at-school.html
Overall I really enjoyed this! I thought all of the topics were interesting and useful, though I would have liked more about it. I was especially interested in the psychological effects of school on how we act. This book was a little too surface level for my taste, but it was still insightful. My only other complaint is the religious aspects and the way the book objectively rejected religion and presumed that there is no God or greater force in the world. I would have appreciated a little more nuance, or at least acknowledgement of religion.
I had different ideas for this book. It is more of a book and coping with anxiety and looking at your childhood.
Thanks #NetGalley for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook. #whattheyforgottoteachyouatschool. I’ve listened to it a couple times now and will be listening a couple more. I really liked the narrators soothing voice. I sometimes would be lolled to sleep while listening. LOL No worries though, just started back up again when I woke up. This audiobook definitely has some very insightful chapters and explains things that they didn’t teach us in school. It touches upon subjects in the realm of mental health and coping with life. I found it insightful and entertaining.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I will update my review once I finish it.
This is the perfect book for someone who feels lost, or as though they picked up unhealthy habits from their years of school. As a society I think the things that we value are a little bit backwards, and a lot of times what we value directly correlates to how we feel about ourselves. This is a shorter book, that I think is packed full of questions and situations are relatable. I am usually not a huge self help type of person, but I do think that this book had some really beneficial parts. I would describe it as a book that might validate ones feelings, and for that alone I think it would be beneficial.
I listened to this on audio and it was better than I expected. It went more in depth than I assumed it would, however if you are a teacher this may not be the best book for you. It went into the psychology of attachment and how it has to do with schooling as well as how school and parents play into our lives. It goes into emotions, friendships, relationships and self evaluation. This was a good “beginner to psychology” book and I recommend if you are interested in how your upbringing affects your everyday life.