Introduction - In this next series of Blogs, we are going to share with you those significant people who have been influential in our personal and professional growth. We have had the honor of being grounded in the theories and wisdom of these foundational thinkers. There is no specific hierarchy or order - here is the first one:
Carl Rogers, 1902-1987 Carl Rogers was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. He was a follower of Carl Jung, John Dewey, Leta Stetter Hollingworth, Martin Buber, Otto Rank, and Kurt Goldstein. — Wikipedia Contributions to Psychology With his emphasis on human potential, Carl Rogers had an enormous influence on both psychology and education. Beyond that, he is considered by many to be one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century. More therapists cite Rogers as their primary influence than any other psychologist.
Client-Centered Therapy In Client-Centered Therapy the therapist acts as a facilitator rather than the director of the therapy session. The focus is on the client. For psychotherapy to be successful, it is imperative for the therapist to express unconditional positive regard to the client. The client is accepted as they are which allows them to express both positive and negative feelings without judgment or reproach by the therapist. Self-Actualization Each of us possesses an inherent need to grow and achieve our potential. This need to achieve is one of the primary motives driving the behavior of the individual.
Development of the Self The formation of a healthy self-concept is an ongoing process shaped by a person's life experiences. People with a stable sense of self tend to have greater confidence and cope more effectively with life's challenges. Each of us possesses an inherent need to grow and achieve our potential. This need to achieve is one of the primary motives driving the behavior of the individual. A person’s self-concept begins to develop during childhood and is greatly influenced by their parents. Parents who offer their children unconditional love and regard are more likely to foster a healthy self-concept. Children who feel that they have to “earn” their parents' love may end up with low self-esteem and feelings of unworthiness. Everyone has a concept of their “ideal self.” If this ideal self is not in congruence with their perceptions of who they are, a state of confusion can result.
The Golden Age of Education The period following World War II can be called the New Age of Enlightenment. In American Education it was called the Golden Age of Education and the process was called Child-Centered Education. Involving children in their learning experiences was based earlier on the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Maria Montessori, and Johann Pestalozzi. The American Educational type of educational systems were established at the same time in England and Finland.
Child-Centered Education Carl G. Rogers was joined by Arthur W. Combs, Donald Snygg, Abraham H. Maslow, Earl C. Kelly, and many other educators in the Child-Centered Education movement. The psychological/philosophical source of this educational system can be found in the ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) 1962 yearbook entitled Perceiving, Behaving, Becoming. Arthur Combs was Chairman of the yearbook committee and co-author, along with Rogers, Maslow, and Kelly.
Child-Centered Learning
In the 1950s, in my fourth grade classroom of 25 children I had 25 different learners, 25 different personalities, 25 different learning styles, 25 people having different needs, and 25 different ways of being a co-learner. (Actually. I had 26 engaged people since I was a co-learner; growing and learning with my students.)
Changing from a Subject-Centered. teacher-dominated style of “Teaching”, I found it to be joyful, to be freeing while accepting responsibility for the personal, social, and intellectual needs of my students.
–Peter Pierro
Player-Centered Coaching Throughout these blogs and in our book, Grassroots Coaching, you will find that our players are expected to share ownership of their learning, thereby increasing their ability to retain important skills and information. They learn much of this by being involved in game and practice experiences; by listening and commenting at our team sessions; by not being afraid to ask for help. “You don’t learn a lot while sitting on the bench.” Beliefs In our book and previously in these blogs, we have stated our nine philosophical beliefs. Here are excerpts from four of them:
The Coach I believe that mutual respect is always appropriate and essential. I must model this by having respect for each of my players and for myself. I must be an example of other values I subscribe to; such as honesty, good sportsmanship, and fairness, I must act as a caring guide and resource person who is committed to assisting each player in growing as a learner, as a player, and as a unique person. I believe that my players and I are on the same team. I reject any kind of adversarial, me against them, relationship.
"Experience is, for me, the highest authority. The touchstone of validity is my own experience. No other person's ideas and none of my own ideas are as authoritative as my experience. It is to experience that I must return again and again, to discover a closer approximation to truth as it is in the process of becoming in me." – Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person, 1954
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