Here are comments from exasperated kindergarten teachers throughout the country. From Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn Last month I posted an article describing the stand that kindergarten teachers in Brookline, Massachusetts, took in protesting the policies imposed upon them from above—the excessive testing, dreary drill, and lack of opportunity for playful, creative, […]
Fairness makes play possible, and children learn fairness in play. From Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn I am a long-time admirer of Marc Bekoff and his research on play among canids (wolves, coyotes, dogs and the like). I was happy, therefore, to see his recent Psychology Today blog post entitled When […]
Over the next few weeks, many preschoolers will meet their foundation teachers, spend some time in a classroom and hopefully make some new friends. from shutterstock.com The transition from preschool to school is a big deal for many children and parents. Over the next few weeks, many preschoolers will take part in […]
How can teachers bring common sense and compassion to education policy? The research is clear. Academic training in kindergarten has no long-term benefit. In fact, it has long-term harm. It does not reduce the education gap between rich and poor, which is the usual reason offered for such training. It slightly increases […]
By Peter Gray Ph.D. / Freedom to Learn Ruby Lou and I were children when children were free. We reunited recently. I opened Chapter 1 of my book Free to Learn with the following paragraph: I’ve learned from hundreds of great teachers over the course of my life, but if I had to […]
Dads tend to engage in more active, physical play activities with their young children. Shutterstock/pyrozhenka Play is an important way for children to learn about the world around them. Through play, they learn cultural norms, socialisation guidelines and experiment with different ways to interact with their environment. But play between a father and […]
Can free-range parenting laws and city proclamations help restore kids’ freedom? By Peter Gray Ph.D. ‘Freedom to Learn’ Can laws and official public proclamations help to restore children’s rights to be children and parents’ rights to be parents? There is some evidence that they can. This is the third article in […]
Guidelines advise children under two shouldn’t have any screen time, but most do anyway. Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash Most (80%) Australian parents worry children spend too much time with screens. But what children are doing on and off screen matters more than how much time they’re exposed to screen media. […]
Part two: overcoming the social isolation society has imposed on children. By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn Children are suffering today from too much adult structuring of their activities and not enough freedom to play and explore in their own chosen ways (for some of the evidence, see here, here, and here). […]
Children can show clingy behaviour at any stage up to late primary school years. from shutterstock.com Many parents complain of difficulties in managing clingy children – whether it’s a baby who cries every time the parent is out of sight, a toddler who clings to their parent’s legs at social […]