Free to Learn

By: Peter Gray

Narrated by: Dan Woren

Our children spend their days being passively instructed and made to sit still and take tests, often against their will. We call this imprisonment schooling yet wonder why kids become bored and misbehave. Even outside of school children today seldom play and explore without adult supervision and are afforded few opportunities to control their own lives. The result: anxious, unfocused children who see schooling and life as a series of hoops to struggle through.

In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that our children, if free to pursue their own interests through play, will not only learn all they need to know but will do so with energy and passion. Children come into this world burning to learn, equipped with the curiosity, playfulness, and sociability to direct their own education. Yet we have squelched such instincts in a school model originally developed to indoctrinate, not to promote intellectual growth.

To foster children who will thrive in today's constantly changing world, we must entrust them to steer their own learning and development. Drawing on evidence from anthropology, psychology, and history, Gray demonstrates that free play is the primary means by which children learn to control their lives, solve problems, get along with peers, and become emotionally resilient. This capacity to learn through play evolved long ago, in hunter-gatherer bands where children acquired the skills of the culture through their own initiatives. And these instincts still operate remarkably well today, as studies at alternative, democratically administered schools show. When children are in charge of their own education, they learn better and at lower cost than the traditional model of coercive schooling.

A brave, counterintuitive proposal for freeing our children from the shackles of the curiosity-killing institution we call school, Free to Learn suggests that it's time to stop asking what's wrong with our children and start asking what's wrong with the system. It shows how we can act both as parents and as members of society to improve children's lives and promote their happiness and learning.

©2013 Peter Gray (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

" All kids love learning. Most don't love school. That's a disconnect we've avoided discussing until this lightning bolt of a book. If you've ever wondered why your curious kid is turning into a sullen slug at school, Peter Gray's Free to Learn has the answer. He also has the antidote." (Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids)

" [A] well written, well organized and beautifully stated piece of work . I emphatically recommend this book for any parent as well as any educator or anyone interested in improving education for our society." (Laurette Lynn, UnpluggedMom.com)

" [E]nergetic Gray powerfully argues that schools inhibit learning . [Gray's] vivid illustrations of the power of play to shape an individual are bound to provoke a renewed conversation about turning the tide in an educational system that fosters conformity and inhibits creative thinking." (Publishers Weekly)

Mind blown

A must read for anyone with children and anyone who cares about the future of our education system and world. Great history lesson on how our current education system came into existence. And truly insightful on what kids really need and how to provide that for them.

Best book about unschooling out there

It’s the most complete work out there and I made it a requirement to read to apply for my unschooling neighborhood in Madeira called A Place To Be

incredibly rich -informative and inspiring

I really love this book. I admire the comprehensive nature of Peter Gray's experience and informative and informative style style.. Of all the books I've read Of all the books I've read on on on schooling on schooling and on liberal methods of free classrooms everything from Waldorf school to Montessori to free schools and to nature schools, this book stands apart in its spectrum of illustration of principles and success stories. The concept of freedom in Learning and curiosity and commitment both demands and deserves to be put in Front and center Front and center when we as students as students as adults as adults as teachers and instructors begin to comprehend the importance only allowing students to determine only allowing students to determine a Certain amount a Certain amount of freedom of freedom in their decisions about what to learn we're learned how to learn we're learned how to learn and how to be responsible when given and that sort of freedom and liberty when given and that sort of freedom and liberty....

Thank you Peter gray...we so appreciate you're insights and lifetime of Study and teaching in passing on in passing on these stories which illustrate the success of this style of learning.

A MUST read for anyone working with children.

This book is most helpful with opening the adult mind to understanding why children need freedom. Read it! You won't be sorry that you did.

Life changing book!

As a public school teacher this book flipped me on my head and opened my eyes to a whole new world. My future plans for my kids have totally changed! Highly recommend!!!

great book!

very informative and helpful. sudberry valley looks amazing. anyone looking to homeschool should check it out #wellnessrising

This is the best book I've ever heard or read.

Very inspiring and very informative. Based on surveys and experiments and not just good intentions.

Little too much history

With only two hours left I was hoping there would be more for me to apply in the every day life but basically the entire book is just about the history and benefits of children’s play. Got so tired of listening that I quit two hours left so maybe there was more in those two hours

Absolutely radically inspiring.

What a clear, enthusiastic and professionally sound sharing of some of the most important information of our time!

Free to learn

As a schooling professional I really enjoyed this book. It’s making me question. Many long-held beliefs certainly worth the listen.