A Conversation with Peter Gray: Play, Child Development & Education
Peter Gray is a research professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College. His recent research focuses on the role of play in human evolution and how children educate themselves through play and exploration, when they are free to do so. He has expanded on these ideas in his book, Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life He also authors a regular blog called Freedom to Learn, for Psychology Today magazine and a Substack series entitled Play Makes Us Human. He is one of the founders of the nonprofit Alliance for Self-Directed Education and of the nonprofit Let Grow, the mission of which is to renew children’s freedom to play and explore independently of adult control.
David and Peter have a great conversation about some of these important questions:
What is self directed learning?
Why is it important for children to take responsibility for their learning?
Why is play important in learning?
Why don’t we see more play in schools?
What is coercive schooling?
How has the decline in play affected children’s mental health?
What should the role of the teacher be in self directed learning?
Why is multi-age learning important?
Peter Gray has years of experience with the importance of play and how it supports the growth and development of children socially, emotionally, and academically.
We hope you enjoy this episode that contains a wealth of information from a renowned expert in his field.
You can find more out about Peter Gray here: https://www.petergray.org/ or on his Substack, Play Makes Us Human here: https://petergray.substack.com/
Stay tuned for an announcement about David’s latest program and some new structures for the podcast!
