Review: Free to Learn by Peter Gray

This book is changing my life, and the lives of my children, and my friends and their children.

I know I usually share fiction books for kids to read. That's because nonfiction books for adults are boring. I tried to read another unschooling book, one by John Holt that comes highly recommended, and maybe I'm ADHD or something but I never bothered to finish it (I did feel it would have appealed to me better when I first had kids). Peter Gray's writing speaks to me on a deeper level. I originally found out about him through his articles at Psychology Today. The articles are short, to-the-point, and employ research material as back-up. His views may seem out there--but that's the point! Compared to his articles, his book Free to Learn gives a great framework for play is so important.

Have you ever heard of the Sudbury Valley School? You will if you read this book. It's an amazing school where the kids are supervised but not directed by adults. There is no curriculum, yet the kids do more than learn there--they flourish. If part of you is asking, "But what about math?" or anything like that, then you need to read this book. As a society we do not give our kids enough credit, and I believe we often operate out of a parental drive misdirected by fear and the chains of recent traditions. Forget everything you know about "school" and "learning" and put more trust in childrens' natural drive to learn and to adapt to society.

I thought I was an "unschooler" before (a homeschooling/learning/life philosophy). This book helped me pin down what I have been observing and "feeling" was correct in my own life by offering concrete research and an overall framework for understanding natural learning. Plenty of unschoolers who have "been there," with children that have now graduated and gone on to college, have motivated me to research unschooling, and here Peter Gray knits it all together in a convenient, engaging package in Free to Learn.

I loved this book so much that I looked for other books by him, and ended up purchasing books from the Sudbury Valley School like Free at Last. It can be difficult to find these books for a good price on Amazon, so you'll want to compare with the school's online shopping cart here, where there is also a greater selection of books.

Peter Gray also gives speeches. I'm missing one tomorrow night because my kids have been sick. You can find him on Facebook here. He is a research professor at Boston College. You can also find articles by him at KindredMedia.

Free to Learn by Peter Gray is a book I'm happy to have on my shelf, for my own reference, and to share with others!

I actually read a non-fiction book all the way through. That says something, ya'll.