Education offers everyone unique experiences. These experiences do not depend on the individual's personal background or social status. According to education expert Jane Thompson, the educational process can be either a restriction on creativity or a "practice of freedom." In Educating Rita by Willy Russell, the protagonist's experience through the Open University is a practice of freedom as she is given the opportunity to express her thoughts and discover her own limits. There is an internal struggle within Rita as the new environment threatens to erase her past life. Rita is able to maintain her practice of freedom through the help of Frank, who provides her with a welcoming and encouraging learning environment. At the beginning of the play, Rita is presented as a talkative woman who is very capable of expressing her thoughts in a simple fashion way. From Rita's casual dialect and lack of discipline, it is clear that she had a limited education before this encounter. On the contrary, Frank is a “true lecturer” who knows his field of study well. (4) Ironically, Frank is very dissatisfied with his job, and the same careless attitude is reflected in Rita's personality. (16) Their relationship immediately blossoms because of this similarity, establishing a welcoming environment for Rita. The office becomes Rita's sanctuary as she gradually reveals her lack of confidence. Rita expresses disbelief when she received her acceptance notice. In Rita's mind, the Open University must be an inferior university and there must have been a lack of applications this year. (4) For Rita, if it were another guardian, she would have “packed her bags” and left. (9) Frank is reason...... middle of paper ...... and the freedom to please himself rather than others. All of this is accomplished through the combined efforts of Rita and Frank. According to researcher Jane Thompson, the “practice of freedom” allows an individual to discover their own paths in this world. This is certainly the case for Rita as she goes through the Open University and establishes her own hidden potentials. With Frank's help, Rita manages to overcome the struggles she faced during her studies and emerge victorious. Without Frank's help, Rita would not have been enrolled at the Open University and her life would not have brought about this radical change for the better. The end product of their combined hard work is a new Rita, an educated, confident, independent and free-willed woman. It wasn't easy for her, but for Rita, the effort was certainly worth it..