John Holt - How Children Fail -

: Students become "producers" who focus solely on providing the answer the teacher wants rather than "thinkers" who seek genuine understanding.

Holt observed that instead of trying to understand material, students develop "strategies" to dodge adult demands and "fish" for right answers:

: Much of the information presented in school feels like a "torrent of words" that contradicts what children actually know about reality. Strategies of Survival