Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Prepared for Life

Developmental psychologist Gray declares that “school is prison, but almost nobody beyond school age says it.” In this energetic though repetitive manifesto, Gray powerfully argues that schools inhibit learning by “[interfering] with the development of personal responsibility and self-direction” by “turning learning into work” and reducing “diversity in skills and knowledge.” Gray suggests that children possess a natural instinct to educate themselves, and through unstructured play and exploration with individuals of all ages, they will blossom and develop into confident individuals. Drawing on various psychological case studies as well as an in-depth examination of the Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, Mass., Gray shows that children learning in “unschooled” environments demonstrate a deep desire to learn, as well as a capacity for self-control, and display feelings of anxiety and depression far less than students in a structured environment. Many educators and parents may find Gray’s ideas naïve and impractical, but his 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. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Mar.)