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Studies of the Person
Freedom to Learn: A View of What Education Might Become
Focuses on the real problems of contemporary man - family stability, crime, personal growth, peace, the good life. Poses vital foundational questions. Approaches science as a human concern, not one of rigid rules and approved procedures. Cites defects in present methods of educating scientists. Deals with the question of human values in science.
358 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
36 people are currently reading
1919 people want to read
About the author
Carl R. Rogers
88 books1,305 followers"Experience is, for me, the highest authority. The touchstone of validity is my own experience. No other person's ideas, and none of my own ideas, are as authoritative as my experience. It is to experience that I must return again and again, to discover a closer approximation to truth as it is in the process of becoming in me." -Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person
DEVELOPED THEORIES - THERAPIES
Person-Centered; Humanistic; Client-Centered; Student-Centered
TIMELINE
1902 - Carl Rogers was born in Oak Park, Illinois.
1919 - Enrolled at University of Wisconsin.
1924 - Graduated from University of Wisconsin and enrolled at Union Theological Seminary.
1926 - Transferred to Columbia.
1931- Earned Ph.D. from Columbia.
1940 - Began teaching at University of Ohio.
1946 - Elected president of American Psychological Association (APA).
1951 - Published Client-centered Therapy.
1961 - Published On Becoming A Person.
DEVELOPED THEORIES - THERAPIES
Person-Centered; Humanistic; Client-Centered; Student-Centered
TIMELINE
1902 - Carl Rogers was born in Oak Park, Illinois.
1919 - Enrolled at University of Wisconsin.
1924 - Graduated from University of Wisconsin and enrolled at Union Theological Seminary.
1926 - Transferred to Columbia.
1931- Earned Ph.D. from Columbia.
1940 - Began teaching at University of Ohio.
1946 - Elected president of American Psychological Association (APA).
1951 - Published Client-centered Therapy.
1961 - Published On Becoming A Person.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 22, 2009
Difficulties and Opportunities
CHAPTER ONE, Why do kids love school?
* person-centered learning communities (i.e., HSPVA in Houston, TX)
* teachers as facilitators (guide on the side vs. sage on the sage)
* a community of learners (teachers, students, administrators, parents)
* alternative assessment (i.e., portfolios)
* innovation (Graham and Parks School, Cambridge, MA)
* non-competitive environment (The New Orleans Free School, Bob Ferris)
* shared responsibility (City Magnet, Lowell, MA; Tanglewood Open Living School, Jefferson, CO)
CHAPTER TWO, The challenge of present-day teaching
* listen to students (i.e., what is school?)
* what is learning?
* whole-person learning
* “the locus of evaluation resides in the learner” (p. 36)
* left-brain versus right-brain teaching and learning
CHAPTER THREE, As a teacher, can I be myself?
* can we be human in the classroom?
* how can I (teacher or student) become real?
* the search for identity
* the lifetime journey of self-discovery
Responsible Freedom in the Classroom
CHAPTER FOUR, A sixth-grade teacher experiments
* experimental, unstructured, non-directive
* work contracts
* teacher-directed group (small) plus undirected (self-directed) group (large)
* commitment (i.e., self-direction, freedom)
* internal locus of evaluation
* group problem-solving
* experience
* support from principal and superintendent
* introspection and questioning
CHAPTER SIX, Administrators as facilitators
* principal teacher (Robert [Bob:] Ferris, New Orleans Free School)
* collective solution finding
* self-assessment
* internal locus of assessment
CHAPTER THIRTEEN, Researching person-centered issues in education
“Traditional schooling worked for me. Why can’t kids today sit still and listen to the lecture?” (p. 247)
“The major reason for the importance of this chapter is that it presents research, documented over time and in different contexts, that students learn more, attend school more often, are more creative, and are more capable of problem solving when the teacher provides the kind of human, facilitative climate that has been described thus far in this book.” (p. 248)
* students who have been socialized to accept a passive approach to learning is dwindling
* level of expertise needed for an adult in today’s world is significantly more complex and demanding
* knowing is no longer enough: knowing why and how is of greater importance
“It is also more important for students to develop their potential than to adjust to dysfunctional settings.” (p. 248)
“What happens to school attendance when all the teachers in one school decide to increase the amount of direct interaction through eye contact they will have with their students? What percentage of average classroom time is taken up by teacher talk: 20 percent? 40 percent? 60 percent? 80 percent? How often do students in elementary, middle, and high school select their own learning activities? What are the differences between open and traditional education on student learning, attitudes toward school, and creativity? What does research on the brain show about experiential learning and brain development in children and adults? What effect does cooperative grouping have on learning and self-esteem? What are adults like today who were raised in families that spared the rod with their children nearly forty years ago? Can schools foster resilience in youth who face a daily barrage of non-facilitative conditions? What proportion of student time involves actual thinking? What percentage of teacher time is spent in thinking: 10 percent? 1 percent? or less?” (p. 248)
* person-centered learning is a process first and an outcome second
* person-centered learning focuses on the whole person — individual values, beliefs, and attitudes — not a few skills or actions
What works: direct or indirect teaching?
National Center on Education in the Inner Cities, 1993: 99% activities selected by high school teachers; 98% by middle school teachers; 100% by the elementary school teacher. 78% of instruction in elementary, 88% in middle, and 81% in high school classrooms took place in whole- or large-group settings. The smallest percentage of small-group work was in high school classrooms: 3.17% compared to 5.20% in middle, and 12.20% in elementary.
Brain development and rich environments
* student input into selection of learning activities are necessary if rich environments are to be created in the classroom
Facilitators can make a difference
* students learn more and behave better when they receive high levels of understanding, caring, and genuineness than when they receive low levels of support
Facilitative conditions and student learning
David Aspy and Flora Roebuck, 1977, Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like
* students miss four fewer days of school during the year
* students have increases scores on self-concept measures, indicating a more positive self-regard
* student make greater gains on academic achievement measures, including both math and reading scores
* student in person-centered classrooms present fewer disciplinary problems and commit fewer acts of vandalism to school property
* students are more spontaneous and use higher levels of thinking
Other studies that support person-centered learning
“What happens when the system of learning is freed and opened to the students’ need for active involvement?” (p. 260)
How effective is open education?
* greater self-concept, creativity and positive attitude toward school (in students)
Caring: a protective shield
Amy-6 in Philadelphia; HSPVA and Milby High School in Houston; O’Farrell Community School in San Diego; The Dett School and Montefiore School in Chicago; New Orleans Free School are examples.
CHAPTER ONE, Why do kids love school?
* person-centered learning communities (i.e., HSPVA in Houston, TX)
* teachers as facilitators (guide on the side vs. sage on the sage)
* a community of learners (teachers, students, administrators, parents)
* alternative assessment (i.e., portfolios)
* innovation (Graham and Parks School, Cambridge, MA)
* non-competitive environment (The New Orleans Free School, Bob Ferris)
* shared responsibility (City Magnet, Lowell, MA; Tanglewood Open Living School, Jefferson, CO)
CHAPTER TWO, The challenge of present-day teaching
* listen to students (i.e., what is school?)
* what is learning?
* whole-person learning
* “the locus of evaluation resides in the learner” (p. 36)
* left-brain versus right-brain teaching and learning
CHAPTER THREE, As a teacher, can I be myself?
* can we be human in the classroom?
* how can I (teacher or student) become real?
* the search for identity
* the lifetime journey of self-discovery
Responsible Freedom in the Classroom
CHAPTER FOUR, A sixth-grade teacher experiments
* experimental, unstructured, non-directive
* work contracts
* teacher-directed group (small) plus undirected (self-directed) group (large)
* commitment (i.e., self-direction, freedom)
* internal locus of evaluation
* group problem-solving
* experience
* support from principal and superintendent
* introspection and questioning
CHAPTER SIX, Administrators as facilitators
* principal teacher (Robert [Bob:] Ferris, New Orleans Free School)
* collective solution finding
* self-assessment
* internal locus of assessment
CHAPTER THIRTEEN, Researching person-centered issues in education
“Traditional schooling worked for me. Why can’t kids today sit still and listen to the lecture?” (p. 247)
“The major reason for the importance of this chapter is that it presents research, documented over time and in different contexts, that students learn more, attend school more often, are more creative, and are more capable of problem solving when the teacher provides the kind of human, facilitative climate that has been described thus far in this book.” (p. 248)
* students who have been socialized to accept a passive approach to learning is dwindling
* level of expertise needed for an adult in today’s world is significantly more complex and demanding
* knowing is no longer enough: knowing why and how is of greater importance
“It is also more important for students to develop their potential than to adjust to dysfunctional settings.” (p. 248)
“What happens to school attendance when all the teachers in one school decide to increase the amount of direct interaction through eye contact they will have with their students? What percentage of average classroom time is taken up by teacher talk: 20 percent? 40 percent? 60 percent? 80 percent? How often do students in elementary, middle, and high school select their own learning activities? What are the differences between open and traditional education on student learning, attitudes toward school, and creativity? What does research on the brain show about experiential learning and brain development in children and adults? What effect does cooperative grouping have on learning and self-esteem? What are adults like today who were raised in families that spared the rod with their children nearly forty years ago? Can schools foster resilience in youth who face a daily barrage of non-facilitative conditions? What proportion of student time involves actual thinking? What percentage of teacher time is spent in thinking: 10 percent? 1 percent? or less?” (p. 248)
* person-centered learning is a process first and an outcome second
* person-centered learning focuses on the whole person — individual values, beliefs, and attitudes — not a few skills or actions
What works: direct or indirect teaching?
National Center on Education in the Inner Cities, 1993: 99% activities selected by high school teachers; 98% by middle school teachers; 100% by the elementary school teacher. 78% of instruction in elementary, 88% in middle, and 81% in high school classrooms took place in whole- or large-group settings. The smallest percentage of small-group work was in high school classrooms: 3.17% compared to 5.20% in middle, and 12.20% in elementary.
Brain development and rich environments
* student input into selection of learning activities are necessary if rich environments are to be created in the classroom
Facilitators can make a difference
* students learn more and behave better when they receive high levels of understanding, caring, and genuineness than when they receive low levels of support
Facilitative conditions and student learning
David Aspy and Flora Roebuck, 1977, Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like
* students miss four fewer days of school during the year
* students have increases scores on self-concept measures, indicating a more positive self-regard
* student make greater gains on academic achievement measures, including both math and reading scores
* student in person-centered classrooms present fewer disciplinary problems and commit fewer acts of vandalism to school property
* students are more spontaneous and use higher levels of thinking
Other studies that support person-centered learning
“What happens when the system of learning is freed and opened to the students’ need for active involvement?” (p. 260)
How effective is open education?
* greater self-concept, creativity and positive attitude toward school (in students)
Caring: a protective shield
Amy-6 in Philadelphia; HSPVA and Milby High School in Houston; O’Farrell Community School in San Diego; The Dett School and Montefiore School in Chicago; New Orleans Free School are examples.
May 5, 2016
I read quite a bit of Carl Rogers and B.F. Skinner in college, the representing antipodal perspectives, Rogers being the libertarian, Skinner the manipulator. Skinner was at once offensive yet challenging. Rogers was much more sympathetic, but usually boring. This particular book, however, read for Educational Psychology class, was more interesting than the others, probably because the idea of liberty in elementary classrooms was something I still hadn't thought much about.
August 7, 2015
The thread that runs through every so-called "radical" book I read on education is "freedom". Give kids (or adults) freedom, time, and opportunity, and they will thrive. This book discusses ways to provide that even in more inflexible, institutional environments.
March 28, 2013
What can I say.... I read this my first year in teaching, a good 25 years ago, and it framed what I hold most dear. Learning should be fun. Learners should be given latitude in what they study. The rest is commentary.
March 6, 2008
This is the book that opened my eyes to the essence of teaching and learning. It explained why I didn't truly become a learner until I left my formal education. It may be dated a bit, but the essential message still rings true. A classic in humanistic education. I read the first edition.
March 27, 2021
My absolute favorite author in education/psychology. This is where student-center education was born. The author provides meaningful insights on learning and philosophy of life.
April 19, 2021
Прежде всего стоит отметить, что данная книга ориентирована на людей, работа которых связана с обучением детей и студентов. Тем не менее, она нашла у меня сильный отклик, так как позволила порефлексировать о собственном образовании.
Читателю описывают, как традиционная школа приводит к тому, что дети неизбежно теряют интерес к учебе, становятся наблюдателями или участниками насилия и в целом характеризуют школу как место, в которое не хочется приходить. Роджерс убежден, что привычный способ обучения - преподавание или "переливание" знаний ученикам безнадежно устарело, так как на сегодняшний день значительная часть таких знаний устаревает или уже устарело. Острую необходимость изменений показывает и тот факт, что учебный год до сих пор совпадает с сельскохозяйственным календарем, а мы, желая чтобы дети выпускались из школ свободными, решительными и сообразительными, заставляем их сидеть без движения в течения часа, пассивно слушая учителя и не имея возможности безбоязненно обсудить полученную информацию с одноклассниками.
Роджерс предлагает упразднить профессию учителя/преподавателя и создать фасилитаторов учения - людей, задачами которых являются научить детей не бояться ошибок, управлять своим учебным расписанием, использовать самые разные источники информации, выражать свои чувства и эмоции и помогать другим. В тексте данный человекоцентрированный подход, уже нашедший применение в некоторых школах, не только демонстрирует улучшение дисциплины и успеваемости, повышение заинтересованности учеников, но и создает позитивные человеческие отношения между учениками и учителями, а также учителями и администраторами.
Оценивание и тестирование Роджерс подвергает критике, считая, что оценки создают нездоровую и ненужную конкуренцию между учениками, а тестирование нужно прежде всего для сбора показателей эффективности школы, оно немного привносит в обучение, однако на него тратятся несоразмерно большие временные и материальные ресурсы.
Для Роджерса фасилитация не значит построение доброжелательного "фасада" перед учениками, а открытость и полное принятие как учеников, так и себя. Все участники процесса имеют право на выражение своих истинных эмоций с целью создания дискуссии и возможного улучшения процесса совместной работы. Вовлеченный фасилитатор учится вместе с детьми, всегда открытый новому опыту.
Автор также приводит свой ответ на вопрос "Что мы хотим от наших школ?", справедливо замечая:
"....одна из трагедий современного образования состоит в том, что важным почитается только когнитивное развитие. <..> Все окружение президентов Кеннеди и Джонсона состояло из одаренных, талантливых людей. <...> полностью полагаясь на когнитивное и интеллектуальное, эта блестящая группа завела нас в немыслимый кошмар войны во Вьетнаме. <...> Мне бы очень хотелось, чтобы учение в моем классе могло быть учением целостного человека."
Не пора ли нам поставить в центр внимания не академические и дисциплинарные достижения, а чувства детей? По мере чт��ния данной книги во мне выросла убежденность, что все образовательные реформы должны быть созданы с мыслями о людях, непосредственно вовлеченных в процесс учения: детей, их родителей и учителей.
Роджерс не обещает легкого и универсального пути, он лишь приводит конкретные примеры школ, которые в той или иной мере реализуют принципы человекоцентрированного подхода, и предлагает создавать свои решения, включая в дискуссию самих детей, их родителей и неравнодушных коллег и администраторов.
"Это изменение не может быть предписано свыше, оно должно исходить от вас самих."
Читателю описывают, как традиционная школа приводит к тому, что дети неизбежно теряют интерес к учебе, становятся наблюдателями или участниками насилия и в целом характеризуют школу как место, в которое не хочется приходить. Роджерс убежден, что привычный способ обучения - преподавание или "переливание" знаний ученикам безнадежно устарело, так как на сегодняшний день значительная часть таких знаний устаревает или уже устарело. Острую необходимость изменений показывает и тот факт, что учебный год до сих пор совпадает с сельскохозяйственным календарем, а мы, желая чтобы дети выпускались из школ свободными, решительными и сообразительными, заставляем их сидеть без движения в течения часа, пассивно слушая учителя и не имея возможности безбоязненно обсудить полученную информацию с одноклассниками.
Роджерс предлагает упразднить профессию учителя/преподавателя и создать фасилитаторов учения - людей, задачами которых являются научить детей не бояться ошибок, управлять своим учебным расписанием, использовать самые разные источники информации, выражать свои чувства и эмоции и помогать другим. В тексте данный человекоцентрированный подход, уже нашедший применение в некоторых школах, не только демонстрирует улучшение дисциплины и успеваемости, повышение заинтересованности учеников, но и создает позитивные человеческие отношения между учениками и учителями, а также учителями и администраторами.
Оценивание и тестирование Роджерс подвергает критике, считая, что оценки создают нездоровую и ненужную конкуренцию между учениками, а тестирование нужно прежде всего для сбора показателей эффективности школы, оно немного привносит в обучение, однако на него тратятся несоразмерно большие временные и материальные ресурсы.
Для Роджерса фасилитация не значит построение доброжелательного "фасада" перед учениками, а открытость и полное принятие как учеников, так и себя. Все участники процесса имеют право на выражение своих истинных эмоций с целью создания дискуссии и возможного улучшения процесса совместной работы. Вовлеченный фасилитатор учится вместе с детьми, всегда открытый новому опыту.
Автор также приводит свой ответ на вопрос "Что мы хотим от наших школ?", справедливо замечая:
"....одна из трагедий современного образования состоит в том, что важным почитается только когнитивное развитие. <..> Все окружение президентов Кеннеди и Джонсона состояло из одаренных, талантливых людей. <...> полностью полагаясь на когнитивное и интеллектуальное, эта блестящая группа завела нас в немыслимый кошмар войны во Вьетнаме. <...> Мне бы очень хотелось, чтобы учение в моем классе могло быть учением целостного человека."
Не пора ли нам поставить в центр внимания не академические и дисциплинарные достижения, а чувства детей? По мере чт��ния данной книги во мне выросла убежденность, что все образовательные реформы должны быть созданы с мыслями о людях, непосредственно вовлеченных в процесс учения: детей, их родителей и учителей.
Роджерс не обещает легкого и универсального пути, он лишь приводит конкретные примеры школ, которые в той или иной мере реализуют принципы человекоцентрированного подхода, и предлагает создавать свои решения, включая в дискуссию самих детей, их родителей и неравнодушных коллег и администраторов.
"Это изменение не может быть предписано свыше, оно должно исходить от вас самих."
September 24, 2025
For me examinations are always a great stress, especially when I want to show the best result. I realized that the right preparation is crucial. Very helpful experienced teachers who know how to explain the material accessible and structured. In this regard ib basel tutors have become a great option. With them the preparation goes more calmly and confidently. Exams don’t seem like such a big problem when there is support and a clear schedule of classes.
March 21, 2021
Read this after I graduated college as a fun read b/c I loved his approach so much.
November 23, 2025
Extremely important read for anyone interested in education, the role of the teacher in the classroom, and the importance of student-centered learning.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews