A well researched and compelling case for freedom and democracy in children's schooling. Gray argues that universal education is much more akin to compulsory education. In a modern progressive culture as our purports to be, compelling children to learn by locking them in an institution for significant portions of their day is abhorrent.

Gray has the optimistic view that in the future, we will view schools modelled after Sudbury Valley School as the norm, and look back on this era of forced schooling and distrustful parenting as an unpleasant historical moment.

Children are learning machines. But this book is not a manual on the operation for that machine. Rather, it is more of an investigation into the current tragedy of not using the machine to its fullest potential, causing our culture to be poorer because of this.

If you're thinking implementing un-schooling for your kids, this book is not a how to, but more of a why that you might use to convince the traditionalists in your social circle.… (mais)

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Beniaminus | 2 outras críticas | Nov 1, 2017 |

Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play… por Peter Gray

A quite reasonable and completely rational case is made to radically rethink how children are raised and formally "educated". A provocative book all parents and educators should read.

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Sullywriter | 2 outras críticas | May 22, 2015 |

Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play… por Peter Gray

Really wanted to LOVE this. And I did love the chapters on the science of play and Sudbury Valley. Bonus points for the inspiring T1 story. The rest? Pretty much re-hash of stuff I knew already and nowhere near enough stuff on homeschooling/unschooling. Demerits for including Playborhood as an example of child-led play - the dad made his shy kid do this because it was "good for him" - there is very little that is self-directed about Mike Lanza's approach to play and what he deems "good for kids." I like Lanza's results (kind of), but his philosophy is radically different than what Peter Gray espouses - and, to me, that gave me a whiff of sloppy due diligence.… (mais)

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beckydj | 2 outras críticas | Jun 26, 2013 |

Psychology por Peter O. Gray

Review from World Cat:
[The author's] goal throughout [this book] has been to depict the science of psychology as a human endeavor in which progress comes through the work of thoughtful, if fallible, people who make observations, conduct experiments, reason, and argue about behavior.... The book is divided into eight ... parts ... Part 1 ... orients students to the foundation ideas and scope of our discipline and presents some advice on how to study this book. [It also] lays out some general elements of psychological research that will be useful to students in later chapters.... Part 2 ... is devoted ... to the functionalist theme that reappears frequently in the book.... Part 3 ... is concerned most directly with psychologists' attempts to explain behavior in terms of the neural and hormonal mechanisms that produce it.... Part 4 ... is about the processes through which the brain or mind gathers information about the outside world.... Part 5 ... is about he ability of the brain or mind to store information and use it to solve problems....Part 6 ... is about social psychology.... Part 8 ... consists of three chapters on topics that students tend to most strongly identify as "psychology" before they enter the course. -Pref.… (mais)

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Assinalado

COREEducation | Aug 27, 2015 |

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