Limitations in applying humanistic psychology in the classroom

The contributions of Carl R. Rogers to a philosophical praxis of dialogue

“…It is difficult to respond to some of the critiques of Rogers because of their indirection. Three prominent ones were addressed, not at Rogers, but at "humanistic psychology" (Franzwa, 1973;Hart & Burks, 1972;Phillips, 1976). None mentioned Rogers often, but all implied much.…”

Maxims for Humanizing Education

“…At times these techniques have been found successful (Rogers, 1969;1972) and at other times they have been unsuccessful (Mandel, 1971;Franzwa, 1973). One reason these &dquo;humanizing&dquo; techniques have yielded equivocal results may be that they are not the most important determinant of educational outcomes.…”

“…This point is particularly important for it directly addresses the common misconception that to educate humanistically one must run open classrooms, let students grade themselves, or adhere to similar &dquo;humanizing&dquo; techniques. This misconception has led detractors to suggest that the humanistically oriented teacher must sit back and let students do exactly as they wish without injecting his or her own feelings about what is happening (e.g., Franzwa, 1973). In describing how he taught a class, Rogers (1969) presents a more accurate view.…”