Books
Marion Brady, What’s Worth Learning?
What’s Worth Learning? addresses the central question of general education. For learners facing a complex, unpredictable, and dangerous future, it asks and answers the question: What knowledge is absolutely essential for every learner? Note that an earlier version of this book, What's Worth Teaching? was recently republished by Playster.com. This revised version (What's Worth Learning?) is available at no cost by clicking on the link below.
In simple, jargon-free language, the book explains why the “core curriculum” in near-universal use in America’s classrooms was poor when it was adopted in 1893 and why it grows more dysfunctional with each passing year. It then shows how, without changes in staffing, budgets, or bureaucratic boundaries, knowledge can be organized to both radically improve learner intellectual performance and significantly decrease the cost of a general education, (Originally published by Information Age Publishing in Charlotte, NC, 2011).
What's Worth Learning? is now available as a free e-book (no strings, no signup, no advertising, only 1.5MB).
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Book review by Dr. Philip L. Smith
Marion Brady and Howard Brady, Introduction to Systems.
(Formerly Connections: Investigating Reality)
Translating a new idea into classroom instruction can be difficult. To demonstrate, we've prepared student materials for a comprehensive, classroom-tested course of study suitable for adolescents and older students, and offer it as a free appendix to What's Worth Learning?:
See: Introduction to Systems
Marion Brady and Howard Brady, Investigating American History: A Systems Approach (originally American History Handbook)
Howard Brady, Ignacio Carral, and Marion Brady, Investigating World History: A Systems Approach
Marion Brady and Howard Brady, Investigating World Cultures: A Systems Approach
Marion Brady and Howard Brady, Civic Systems
Additional online resources and courses of study for adolescents, available free from this website. Student materials are included, and (for IAH) also available as a separate document.
See: Systems-Based Learning Courses
Marion Brady, Chapter 2, "The World Beyond the Academic Disciplines," pp. 45-60, in Bringing Heart and Soul to Education, compiled and edited by Dr. William Spady, Boulder, Colorado, Mason Works Press.
Marion Brady, Chapter 12, “Why Current Education Reform Efforts Will Fail,” pp. 203-219, in The Gates Foundation and the Future of U.S. ‘Public’ Schools, Philip E. Kovacs, Editor. Routledge. New York, NY 2011. Available at Amazon Books
Marion Brady, Chapter 3, “A Supradisciplinary Curriculum,” pp. 26-33, in Toward A Coherent Curriculum, 1995 Yearbook of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, James A. Beane, Editor. Available at Amazon Books
Marion Brady, A Study of Reality.
Books for Educators. Kent, Washington. 1994, 1996.
A comprehensive, “supradisciplinary” course of study designed to help adolescents lift into consciousness their conceptual models of reality. Note that this is no longer in print, but its significant content is included in Introduction to Systems, available for free from this website.
Marion Brady, What’s Worth Teaching? Selecting, Organizing, and Integrating Knowledge. State University of New York Press. 1989. Available at Amazon Books
What’s Worth Teaching? is a volume in the SUNY Series in Philosophy of Education.
Marion Brady, What’s Worth Teaching? Selecting, Organizing, and Integrating Knowledge (Revised) Books For Educators. 1993.
Books for Educators bought the right to co-publish What’s Worth Teaching? from SUNY Press, and nominated the book for the Grawemeyer Award in Education. Note that this book was recently republished by Playster.com as an ebook. A revised version, What's Worth Learning?, is available (above) at no cost.
Marion Brady and Howard Brady, Idea and Action in American History.
Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1977
A middle school United States history textbook that made very extensive use of primary source material to explain and explore seven concepts essential to understanding the past: Motivation, Value Conflict, Cultural Differences, Polarization, Autonomy, Cultural Interaction, and System Change.
Marion Brady and Howard Brady, Idea and Action in World Cultures.
Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1977
A middle school world cultures textbook that used primary source material from fourteen different societies to explain and explore eight concepts essential to understanding all societies: Human Patterns, Habitat, Values, Social Control, Learning, Technology, Status, and Outsiders.
Marion Brady and Howard Brady. A Rationale for Social Studies.
State of Florida, Department of Education. 1971
A Rationale for Social Studies went through more printings than any previous Florida Department of Education publication.