Rogers Perspective:
Qualities That Will Facilitate Freedom in theClassroom

In his book Freedom to Learn (1983), Rogers addressed threequalities needed for facilitating freedom in the classroom. The three qualitiesare as follows:

1. Realness in the facilitator of learning: Rogers believes thatthis is the most crucial and needed quality. When the teacher, the facilitator,is a real person, being what he or she truly is, and engaging into a "personal"relationship with the learner, without a facade, the teacher will beincreasingly more effective in providing an environment conducive to optimallearning.

2. Prizing, acceptance, and trust: When a teacher practices the truemeaning of "prizing," the teacher promotes and encourages whole-personlearning. This quality emphasizes a basic trust and belief that the student(s)are not only capable of learning but also capable of teaching.

3. Empathic understanding: This refers to the teacher's ability toaccurately understand the student's phenomenal field. That is, the teacherunderstands the student's internal reactions, and has a sensitive awareness ofthe way the process of education and learning appears and feels to the student.

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