Books by Peter Gray

A child development expert shows why "unschooling" is the best way to get kids to learn

The name of Peter Gray will need little introduction to lovers of railways in the West Country. The compiler of several colour albums all of which are sought after and long out of print.

Children come into the world biologically designed to educate themselves. Their natural curiosity, playfulness, sociability, willfulness, adventurousness, tendency to look ahead, and desire to do well in the world were all shaped, by natural selection, to serve the function of education. In this collection of essays, developmental psychologist Peter Gray describes, with research evidence, how these natural tendencies play themselves out in children who are not schooled but, instead, are allowed ample time and opportunity to exercise their natural educative drives. He explains, especially, how children learn from one another when allowed to play freely in settings where they are not segregated by age. In addition, he presents evidence that children come into the world with prosocial drives-to help, share, and comfort-that grow ever stronger when adults allow them to grow. He also discusses ADHD as a natural and valuable personality variation, not a disorder, which causes problems in the typical school environment but does not interfere with Self-Directed Education.

Theory is one thing; empirical evidence is another. Is it true that children can educate themselves well, without coercion or coaxing, when provided with a supportive environment and plenty of opportunity to play, explore, observe, and socialize? In this collection of essays, developmental psychologist Peter Gray presents evidence from a variety of sources that this indeed is true. One essay points out the amazing amount that little children learn before anyone attempts to teach them in any formal way. Another presents evidence from anthropological research that children in hunter-gatherer cultures educated themselves well, for life in their culture, with no formal instruction. This is followed by an essay summarizing the results of research showing that graduates of the Sudbury Valley School-a school designed for Self-Directed Education-have succeeded very well in higher education, jobs, and life in general. The final seven essays all deal with the results of research, conducted by Peter Gray and Gina Riley, into unschooling families and the lives of adults who grew up unschooled. "Unschooling" here is defined as the variety of homeschooling in which children are not subjected to an imposed curriculum but are allowed to follow their own interests and thereby educate themselves.

Children, like all human beings, crave freedom, but they are not free in school. Schools operate by methods of coercion (a "request" in school is really an order), enforced with reward, punishment, and threats. Coercion interferes with children's natural, joy-filled and interest-filled ways of learning and turns learning into "work." In this collection of essays, developmental psychologist Peter Gray describes also how schooling promotes bullying, cheating, and showing off; contributes to high rates of anxiety, depression, and even suicide among students; aims to push everyone, regardless of the shape of their personality, through the same square holes; and leads to a lifetime of anxiety dreams. The last two essays show how the harm has moved down even to the youngest students, caused by the misbelief that academic training should start in kindergarten and before. This collection is for everyone who cares about children's wellbeing.

Brilliant Cut is the sequel to ‘Rough Cut’, where the newly married Charlie Robertson continues his struggle to establish his international diamond business, but now having enemies more determined than ever trying to stop him.  Two South African murderers, Jan Kruger and Marius Botha were outplayed by Charlie in Rough Cut and now will go to almost any lengths to prevent Robertson Mining ever selling diamonds. But Kruger and Botha look like Florence Nightingale compared to the evil but highly intelligent Konrad Lubbe, the ex-Stasi Colonel now out to make Charlie pay, and pay dearly. Fortunately, Charlie has his lifelong friend Jack Foster as his Head of Security to help protect him, supported by Sir Alan Kingston running his state-of-the-art diamond cutting and finishing business, Groots & Co, in London.  But to make matters even worse, Groots Finance Manager, Elizabeth Jenkins, discovers that diamonds are missing in London. Charlie’s journey ranges from Mt Robertson in Australia’s Kimberley, to London, Hong Kong, New York, and Paris, trying to outplay his enemies as well as satisfying the hedonistic desires of the super-rich to own the world’s most desirable diamonds, pink diamonds…

Hvad kendetegner den gode undervisning? Hvilken læreruddannelse har skolen brug for, og hvilken uddannelsesforskning er den relevante for lærernes professionalitet? Antologien Universitetsskolen - mellem forskning, uddannelse og skoleudvikling giver svar på disse spørgsmål, der har drevet den uddannelsespolitiske og uddannelsesfilosofiske udvikling og til stadighed diskuteres i dag. Universitetsskolen er en samarbejdskonstellation, hvor lærerstuderende, lærere, forskere og læreruddannere samarbejder om at udvikle folkeskolens undervisning gennem undersøgende forløb med udgangspunkt i lærernes problemstillinger. Universitetsskolen understøtter dermed, at forskning, uddannelse og praksis kommer tættere på hinanden.I 15 danske og internationale bidrag undersøges mulighederne og kompleksiteten i at kombinere skoleudvikling, læreruddannelse og didaktisk forskning på universitetsskoler. Antologien viser, at universitetsskoletanken ikke er et nyt fænomen, men griber tilbage til en spændende og mangfoldig uddannelseshistorie. Øvelsesskoler, praktikskoler, forsøgsskoler, partnerskabsskoler eller laboratorieskoler er alle forsøg på at bringe skolens praksis og uddannelsens teori i spil. Universitetsskolen knytter an til denne udvikling og de kendte problemstillinger, men udvikler samtidig nye svar for at styrke samspillet mellem skolen, uddannelsen og forskningen.Antologien er redigeret af Alexander von Oettingen og Keld Thorgård, og sammen med skribenterne inviterer de til videns- og erfaringsdeling på tværs af professionshøjskoler, kommuner, universiteter og skoler for at styrke udviklingen af skolen, den didaktiske forskning og læreruddannelsen.Omtale af bogen'Bogen er meget relevant i forhold til det store fokus, der er på skolen i dag, og som der egentlig altid har været. Alle er optaget af om outputtet fra grundskolen er godt nok, og hele tiden er der diskussion om, hvordan skolen bliver bedre. Bogen er klar i sit budskab: En styrkelse af samspillet mellem skolen, læreruddannelsen og forskningen er altafgørende for at få en bedre skole.' - Dansk BiblioteksCenter

Pink diamonds, the rarest, most expensive diamonds on earth, bring out the worst in people. Desire always... Corruption inevitably... Murder as a matter of course...Charlie Robertson went from penniless Cockney kid dodging the Nazi bombing raids, to successful businessman lying in a coma in St Thomas's hospital in London, all because of pink diamonds. They drew him into a world of corrupt Government officials, sleazy international bankers, a global diamond monopoly, South African killers, and a ruthless ex-Stasi Colonel which nearly killed him.They also made him half a billion pounds.

Explores the multiple dimensions of the Irish lord lieutenancy as an institution - political, social and cultural - between its gradual emergence in the wake of the Tudor proclamation of the 'Kingdom of Ireland' in 1541, and the office's abolition in the context of revolution, independence and partition in 1922.