Search results for ""author peter gray""

For over 300 years the government of Ireland was headed by the lord lieutenant, a peer who combined the 'efficient' direction of the Irish executive on behalf of the British crown with the 'decorative' role of viceroy or surrogate of the crown at the centre of the Irish court at Dublin Castle. In this volume a number of leading historians explore 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. They build on recent research into the complex historical relationship between the British monarchy and Ireland in evaluating the often contradictory roles played by viceroys in British-Irish relations. While the contributors assess the relationship between the lord lieutenancy and the varied and often contested state-building and nation-building activities of the British state in Ireland, they also illuminate the range of personalities of the peers who held the office, and the contribution these incumbents made to defining in practice a role that was always constitutionally opaque. Over the course of more than three centuries, lords lieutenant were at different times military strongmen, quasi-regal Irish magnates, absentee courtiers, activist chief executives and powerless figureheads. Long before the extinction of the office many in both Ireland and Britain had come to question its purpose and efficacy, yet it endured until British rule ended with the establishment of the Irish Free State. This volume sets out to explain the longevity of this governing institution, and unravel both what it symbolised and what it amounted to in substance.

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A leading expert in childhood development makes the case for why self-directed learning -- "unschooling" -- is the best way to get kids to learn.In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that in order to foster children who will thrive in today's constantly changing world, we must entrust them to steer their own learning and development. Drawing on evidence from anthropology, psychology, and history, he demonstrates that free play is the primary means by which children learn to control their lives, solve problems, get along with peers, and become emotionally resilient. A brave, counterintuitive proposal for freeing our children from the shackles of the curiosity-killing institution we call school, Free to Learn suggests that it's time to stop asking what's wrong with our children, and start asking what's wrong with the system. It shows how we can act-both as parents and as members of society-to improve children's lives and to promote their happiness and learning.

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Education has become synonymous with schooling, but it doesn’t have to be. As schooling becomes increasingly standardized and test driven, occupying more of childhood than ever before, parents and educators are questioning the role of schooling in society. Many are now exploring and creating alternatives. In a compelling narrative that introduces historical and contemporary research on self-directed education, Unschooled also spotlights how a diverse group of individuals and organizations are evolving an old schooling model of education. These innovators challenge the myth that children need to be taught in order to learn. They are parents who saw firsthand how schooling can dull children’s natural curiosity and exuberance and others who decided early on to enable their children to learn without school. Educators who left public school classrooms discuss launching self-directed learning centers to allow young people’s innate learning instincts to flourish, and entrepreneurs explore their disillusionment with the teach-and-test approach of traditional schooling.

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