Education

Your books and my own experience have left me profoundly disillusioned with the world and what’s happening here in general. I’ve been coping with this by actually making a difference in my area and educating anyone willing to listen.
But the system seems to be set up in such a way that the common man either plays along or dies in squalor. Any thoughts?

Categories: I'd Like Some Advice|Tags: Education|

You’re forever stressing the importance of changing minds. Can you tell me something that will make me see why it’s so important?

Categories: I Need Some Clarification|Tags: Education|

I would like to know the origins of the wisdom that permeates the book Ishmael. Who was your teacher? Or was it somehow channeled?

Categories: I Have a Question About Daniel Quinn|Tags: Education|

Parables and dialogue play a big role in your novels (more so than any modern writer I know of). Can you explain why?

Categories: I Have a Question About the Books/the Characters, I Need Some Clarification|Tags: Education, Quinn's Motivations, Writing and Publishing|

In question #667, Mr. Quinn notes, “I’ve been very impressed with the ever-increasing awareness of our situation that reveals itself in books, graduate-school theses, publications of all kinds, and in every medium.”. . .
Would it be possible to create a listing of these works on the Ishmael Community website? It is rather difficult to locate scholarly works that verify Quinn’s ideas, given the many varied fields that he addresses.

Categories: I Have a Question On a Specific Subject|Tags: Education|

I have been disappointed in what “school” did for me, and therefore decided to homeschool my two boys. I am a mother of two boys ages 4 1/2 and 7. I have been homeschooling for the last three years.
You said in My Ishmael that homeschooling was a certainly a lesser evil. Is there an alternative to the “lesser evil” of home schooling?

Categories: I Need Some Clarification|Tags: Education|

In Tales of Adam, Mr. Quinn makes reference to gods not of the living community, who certain individuals of each generation seek out in their search for uncommon wisdom.
Might I ask for a greater explanation of these gods, and such wisdom?

Categories: I Have a Question On a Specific Subject|Tags: Education, Medicine, Tribal (tribe)|

It’s obvious from the book and your answers to questions that you have knowledge on a broad range of subjects. Furthermore, to develop the unique perspective presented in Ishmael requires a special blend of disciplines (e.g., theology, anthropology, ecology, history, etc.).
How did you acquire this knowledge and how did you develop the arguments used in the book?

Categories: I Have a Question About the Books/the Characters, I Have a Question On a Specific Subject|Tags: Anthropology, Education, Ishmael, Religion, Writing and Publishing|

I am married to a practicing Roman Catholic who believes very strongly that our future children should be raised in the Church. I used to simply call myself an atheist. Then I read Ishmael, and other Daniel Quinn books and found a new vocabulary for what I have felt most of my adult life.
I think it is important for me to have children to pass on what I know about animism. Thanks to Daniel Quinn my view of the world now has words that I can use to teach this view to them. What advice does Daniel have for me for educating my children, while at the same time attending church every Sunday?

Categories: I'd Like Some Advice|Tags: Christian, Education, Religion|

Please excuse the generalness of this question. I teach a group of 17-18 year olds at a fine arts-based alternative high school in Montreal.
I would like to know what Mr. Quinn has heard about possible pitfalls in bringing Ishmael to students of this age. What has he heard of that may block some students from considering these issues, and what must be emphasized?

Categories: I Have a Question On a Specific Subject, I'd Like Some Advice|Tags: Education, Religion|