This week we're reading Chapter Three from Free to Learn by Peter Gray, "Why Schools Are What They Are: A Brief History of Education." In this chapter, Gray traces the history of formal education and explains how schools developed to meet the needs of agricultural and industrial societies rather than children’s natural ways of learning. He shows how early schools emphasized obedience, memorization, and conformity, shaping students into disciplined workers rather than independent thinkers. We discuss how this model has carried into modern education, often clashing with what we know about play, curiosity, and intrinsic motivation. Gray highlights that many of today’s struggles in education stem from this outdated framework. In our conversation, we reflect on how understanding this history can help us reimagine learning environments that better support children’s growth and communication.

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