The Gardener and the Carpenter
A Book Event featuring Alison Gopnik, Professor of Psychology
Located in Tolman Hall, the Education Psychology Library (EDP) serves the Graduate School of Education (GSE) and the Department of Psychology, as well as related disciplines such as history and sociology. This event will be held in the Seminar Room.
The Education Psychology Library attempts to offer programs in accessible, barrier-free settings. If you think you may require disability-related accommodations, please contact Susan Edwards (sedwards@library.berkeley.edu) and/or or Lynsay Skiba (lynsayskiba@berkeley.edu), preferably at least two weeks prior to the event.
Social Science Matrix and the UC Berkeley Education Psychology Library are proud to present Alison Gopnik, professor of psychology and an affiliate professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley, for a discussion of her new book, The Gardener and the Carpenter.
A pioneering developmental psychologist and philosopher, Gopnik is an internationally recognized leader in the study of children's learning and development. She writes the "Mind and Matter" column for The Wall Street Journal and is the author of The Philosophical Baby and coauthor of The Scientist in the Crib.
In her latest book, The Gardener and the Carpenter, Gopnik argues that the twenty-first-century model of "parenting"—based on a goal of raising a particular kind of child and therefore a particular kind of adult—is profoundly wrong and potentially harmful to children and parents. Drawing on the study of human evolution and her own cutting-edge scientific research into how children learn, Gopnik shows that although caring for children is profoundly important, it is not a matter of shaping them to turn out a particular way. Rather, children are designed to be messy and unpredictable, playful and imaginative, and to be very different both from their parents and from each other. The variability and flexibility of childhood lets them innovate, create, and survive in an unpredictable world. "Parenting" won't make children learn, but caring parents let children learn by creating a secure, loving environment.
The Gardener and the Carpenter has received rave reviews: The Washington Post called it "bracing and thoughtful," and the Financial Times said the book "should be required reading for anyone who is, or is thinking of becoming, a parent." (Additional reviews can be found at the book's website.)
Please join us on November 1, 2016 at 5:10PM. No RSVP required. This event is free and open to the public. Copies of the book will be available for sale, courtesy of Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore. Please send any questions to Susan Edwards (sedwards@library.berkeley.edu) and/or or Lynsay Skiba (lynsayskiba@berkeley.edu).