Why is home schooling so successful? The instructors are inexperienced in teaching, and are not likely experts in their field. Some people will tell you this proves how bad our teachers are, and how bad are our schools. No, it doesn't. The home school teacher works one-on-one with her/his student. There is no peer pressure in a classroom of one. Your child's schoolteacher could do an amazing job if it weren't for the other 19, 29, or 39 students in his/her class, in front of which your child feels he must constantly perform. When you are continually putting on a show, and that's what peer pressure forces your child to do, it is amazing that he or she ever learns anything.
Now please don't lump me in with those people who say all we need to do is get back to basics, and not spend money on schools and teachers. I think those people are more interested in buying bigger SUVs than in providing their children a good education, but are too embarrassed by this position to admit it. So they say we don't need to invest more money in education. The quality of our schools and teachers are major factors in the quality of education, even if they aren't the most crucial one. And, I am certainly not one of those people who thinks we must conduct more testing. How many times must we test our kids before we recognize that they aren't learning enough? No we need to invest more in the education of our children, but it is still clear to me from observing children in class that the major stumbling block in the path to their education is peer pressure.
So what is the solution? I wish I knew. Just because I can see the problem doesn't mean I can see the answer. This was a problem when I was young, and I'm sure it was for generations before. Some of the indirect attempts to alleviate this problem, like school uniforms which reduce the need to show "independence" may help marginally, but that's all. They do not meaningfully reduce the pressure these kids are under.
And yet, these kids are not stupid. They are not uncaring, they are not uninterested in learning. It's all there, waiting to come out, but they can't let it out. I do not know the answer to peer pressure, but I do know that until someone finds an answer, the quality of learning in our schools will never be more than a shadow of what it should be. I observed, and now I know.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
