Review of Upgrade by Kevin Swanson

I just finished reading Upgrade: 10 Secrets to the Best Education for Your Child by Kevin Swanson.  It is a fabulous book to give to a young couple trying to figure out (honestly and open-mindedly) how they want their little ones to be educated.

In Upgrade, Swanson spells out in detail 10 time-tested (common sense) “secrets” to a successful education.  These are “secrets” that the world has utilized in the past, but that our current culture has largely abandoned, thus causing education to be largely unsuccessful and problematic today in America.  You really can’t argue against any of them…which is what makes this book so eye-opening.  We are so brain-washed by our immersion in the current government-mandated education system, that we have lost our moorings from the shore of common sense and logic.

For example, one of the time tested secrets is: The Quality of One on One Instruction.  Everyone knows that a private, tutorial education is a superior choice.  That is why aristocrats, wealthy people, and those who are grooming their children for leadership in the world (dynasties, etc) almost always have their children privately tutored.  Everyone else is being “groomed” for “lemming status”.  (My words…)  Since I don’t want any of my children to be a lemming, I’m going to seriously consider this secret when I’m making a decision about how to prepare my child for life.

Here’s another “secret”:  The Principle of Individuality.  Children are not cookie cutter widgets.  “Standardized” and “Centralized” one-size-fits-all Western education says they are.  That is a tragic mistake.  Again, parents who are interested in raising their children in an environment that takes into consideration their special uniqueness…and caters that education to that particular child…need to seriously consider what types of education options offer that kind of specialized care and attention.

This is not a home education book, but rather, a book about education that challenges parents to go into their “education choice” informed and prepared to accept the consequences of that choice…whatever it may be.   By the end of the book, it does begin to dawn on you that home education makes all 10 of those “secrets” available to benefit the child and create a future leader, both spiritually and culturally.

A parent, before God, can delegate their responsibility to prepare/educate their child for his/her future to another person, another institution, or to the government, but they ought to know what they are getting into…and what the possible outcomes could be. Who can argue with that?

I highly recommend this book for young couples as well as seasoned parents.  It casts vision and helps organize some very important truths in an enlightening way.

Kevin Swanson is a former public and private teacher who is now serving as the Executive Director of
Christian Home Educators of Colorado.  You can view his website, purchase his books, and listen to his podcasts HERE.  Our Visionary Womanhood group is currently reading his other great visionary book, The Second Mayflower.

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