Examining the question, "Why are children not mastering what they ought to be learning in school?," this book merges cognitive science with educational agenda to show how incompatible children's minds and natural patterns of learning are to current educational materials, practices, and institutions, making a case for restructuring the schools. The chapters in the book are divided into three parts. The first part examines the characteristics of the "natural" learner. The second part explores the characteristics of educational institutions, and the third part presents a reconceptualization of education for the purpose of understanding. The chapters are: (1) "Conceptualizing the Development of the Mind"; (2) "Initial Learnings: Constraints and Possibilities"; (3) "Knowing the World through Symbols"; (4) "The Worlds of the Preschooler: The Emergence of Intuitive Understandings"; (5) "The Values and Traditions of Education"; (6) "The Institution Called School"; (7) The Difficulties Posed by School: Misconceptions in the Sciences"; (8) More Difficulties Posed by School: Stereotypes in the Social Sciences and the Humanities"; (9) "The Search for Solutions: Dead Ends and Promising Means"; (10) "Education for Understanding during the Early Years"; (11) "Education for Understanding during the Adolescent Years"; and (12) "Toward National and Global Understandings." (HTH)