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Child-Centered Learning - Review #2

  • Peter McGahey & Peter Pierro
  • Jun 21
  • 2 min read

You could use other terminology. I first used what we called “Individualized Instruction” with my fourth grade students in Barrington, Illinois. Then we changed it to “Individualized Learning” since we’re speaking about the Learner rather than the Teacher. We could say that this all began with Carl Rogers’ “Person-Based Psychotherapy.” Or did it begin with Alfred Adler and Rudolph Dreikurs. Or did it begin with the Perceptualists/Humanists: Arthur Combs, Donald Snygg, Earl Kelly, Abraham Maslow, et al. It grew because it was there and real and needed to be acknowledged and resurrected. (We could even go back to Johann Pestalozzi in the 1700s and Friedrich Froebel in the 1800s).


Let’s take a look at my part of the story. In 1952-55, I was teaching sixth grade, coaching junior high basketball teams, and assistant coaching high school basketball teams at DePue, Illinois.This was my third, fourth, and fifth year of teaching elementary grades. I was working on my master’s degree and I was looking for something different. Something better? Of course.


A colleague of mine at DePue who had moved to Barrington, Illinois, gave me a call. He knew what I had been thinking about and simply said, “Peter, you have to move here.” So, I moved there. I taught junior high math - Modern Math - with Mary Zink, a truly master teacher as my department head. Our interaction with our students was a new and bright experience. The Barrington junior high school and elementary schools were visited by educators from all over the world.


During the second year I learned of an opening for a fourth grade teacher in the same building. Mrs. Anderson, the remaining fourth grade teacher, taught me about their individualized reading program and I was intrigued. I asked to take that open position and I spent the rest of my teaching career as a co-learner with my students.


I wrote my master’s thesis on “Individualized Reading in the Fourth Grade.” Three times a week each of my kids sat and read with me from books that had been selected by them from our school library. Each of their spelling words were taken from their own books, The meanings of their words were learned in context - with meaning and with the possibility of creativity.


The Big Point here: Instead of reading something “At the Fourth Grade Level”  that was Okay for some children -Too easy for some children - and Too hard for some children; each of my children was reading a book at their own specific level -  they had chosen it. Also, they were more likely to enjoy “Reading” since the topic and content of their book was of interest to them.


We did “Learning Units” such as “Southwest Indian Tribes”  and “Pets” together. They learned the elements of research there. Their individual topic for the final unit of the year was chosen by each student. Among the topics were “Different Kinds of Rocks" using the Mohs Scale and “Trucks” by the son of a car dealer. Susan created a 52 page report on “The Evolution of the Horse.” It was truly “Child-Centered Learning”.


Someday I will share with you how this process evolved into my college class and Sunday school class learning programs.  Peter M. and I will talk about it. 

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