My own interpretation is that free play led the boys to be more playful, even in their serious tournament games, and playfulness makes us all a head taller than we otherwise are.
Here are 6 reasons why high schools should terminate their AP programs and let teachers and student create their own special courses, motivated by genuine interest, not status.
As childhood Covid cases have soared, so has the rate of homeschooling. The homeschooling rate has more than tripled since the pandemic began, but not just from fear of Covid.
Few Americans exercise even the minimum weekly amount of 150 minutes. A shift in thought and action from "working out" to "playing out" could solve this problem.
Research shows why levels of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse are much higher among students at high-achieving high schools than among students elsewhere.
There is no such thing as a “developmentally appropriate curriculum” for three- and four-year-olds. Common sense should tell us that. Curriculum implies imposed ...
Some researchers have contended, with good reason, that "specific learning disorder" is neither specific nor a disorder and that the label can cause more harm than good.
William Golding was a schoolteacher, and "Lord of the Flies" is a teacher's worst nightmare. But it isn't true. Real kids in danger cooperate to save themselves.
Dyslexia is usually described as a cognitive or perceptual disorder, but these stories make it clear that the more serious problem was an emotional one—school-induced trauma.
A Gallop Poll, Aug. 27, revealed a doubling in rate of homeschooling in the US. Some reasons derive from immediate pandemic effects on typical schools, but others go beyond that.
A large, representative survey suggests that children's psychological health, sense of independence and responsibility, and relationships with parents improved when schools closed.
Why did shame come about, in natural selection, as a component of human nature? The answer lies in an understanding of how shame makes us acceptable to people on whom we depend.
The closures of schools and organized after-school activities provide children and families with new opportunities for freedom and self-direction. Here are some suggestions.
I am conducting here an informal survey to learn what happens when a child diagnosed with dyslexia subsequently leaves conventional schooling for self-directed education.
Clinical psychologists treat school refusal as if it were a psychological disorder. Is it? When is refusal to abide by a norm a disorder needing treatment, and when is it not?
As one teacher wrote: "Who knew 5- and 6-year-olds could burn out? They certainly can, and I worry about how they’ll continue through school for the 12 years after I have them."
Kindergarten teachers can see first hand the harmful effects of our education policy for young children. Will they be heard? Will common sense and compassion prevail?
Here's to all the Ruby Lous of the world and my fervent wish that we re-create a world where Ruby Lous can do what they are designed to do--play, explore, be brave, be free.
Children come into the world with instinctive drives to educate themselves. These include the drives to play and explore. This blog is primarily about these drives and ways by which we could create learning environments that optimize rather than suppress them.
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