Sometimes a fiction is repeated so often that people believe it’s true. By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn “Well, what about Lord of the Flies?” How often I have heard someone say that after I’ve talked about the value of children’s independent play, away from adults, or about a […]
Summer is a great time to catch up on some reading. from shutterstock.com An Australian summer can be a holiday by the beach, recovering from exams, or anticipating the next stage of schooling. The summer break can also offer a wonderful opportunity to catch up on some reading. Award-winning author […]
How could your local library best serve your family’s and community’s needs? By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn We have in our society two types of publicly supported institutions whose explicit purpose is education—schools and libraries. How different they are from one another! The primary difference is this: Schools are places of forced […]
Here, summed up, are John Holt’s great insights about children’s learning. By Peter Gray Ph.D. In a survey we conducted a few years ago, Gina Riley and I asked unschooling families to name the writers whose works had influenced them most in their decision to take that route. John Holt […]
Grown-ups like them, too. Some kids love science, some love reading. This list is for both! Deposit Photos Sure, the kids in your life are going to get toys, but you’d like them to learn something over the holiday break, too. Here are some great books for kids of all […]
This is a very dangerous book. It contradicts all the conventional wisdom about dropouts and the importance of a formal education. It is funny and inspiring. Do not under any circumstances share this book with a bright, frustrated high~schooler being ground into mind fudge by the school system. This writer […]
Meet the first Chrono City Basic Books / Wild Nights / WILD NIGHTS: How Taming Sleep Created Our Restless World by Benjamin Reiss is available now. The following is an excerpt from Wild Nights by Benjamin Reiss. A team of chronobiologists in Germany is experimenting with optimizing the sleep patterns of […]
A bevy of books Credit: maradon 333 Long, lazy summer days are perfect for curling up in the shade or in an air-conditioned retreat indoors with a good book. And there are plenty of options for kids that will stir their interest in the natural world and spark their curiosity […]
“We, in modern-day America, underestimate children’s abilities to make reasonable judgments far more than have any other people at any other place or time in history. In the name of protecting children we hurt them, sometimes viciously. As Holt shows brilliantly, children need the same rights to advance their own […]
It’s important we learn to love books, not just learn to read them. from www.shutterstock.com.au Reading instruction in the classroom is a key concern for all teachers and there are many ways to go about it. However, is our determination to achieve excellence in reading skills in our children killing […]