Guest post by Nicole Olson. Asking, “What is unschooling?” is a little bit like asking, “What is love?” or “What is happiness?”. It means different things to different people. But within its broad framework, there are some fairly consistent themes and basic beliefs that most unschoolers embrace.What is unschooling… Belief #1: Children are hard-wired to…
Tag: children
Parenting Beyond Boundaries
Guest post by Dawn. To a Christian radical unschooler, our bottom line is that our children, regardless of their age, size, gender, birth order, giftings, issues, etc, are our fellow human beings and should be treated with the exact same dignity, respect, and consideration as any of the other seven billion people on this planet.…
When Does Law Become Criminal?
Post by Skyler J. Collins. Originally written August 2011. If you’ve ever criticized taxation in front of an average statist, be them liberal or conservative, you know that it quickly turns awkward. They insist that taxation is necessary for certain services and that they’re happy to pay it. They sometimes even assume you’re advocating not…
Do You Shame Your Child?
Guest post by Laura Markham. “Children learn to regulate their behaviors by developing an emotional ‘clutch,’ located in the prefrontal cortex, that can turn the accelerator off when the brakes are applied and redirect their interest in more acceptable directions….An activated accelerator followed by the application of brakes leads to a nervous system response with…
Stuck in a Bad Pattern?
Guest post by Laura Markham. Sages say that raising children is one of the best paths to enlightenment because it stretches the heart and teaches us to love. Parents have daily opportunities to dig deep in search of patience and compassion. Luckily, we’re strongly motivated by our love for our children, so we stretch. Sometimes,…
Discipline, Respect and Obedience
Guest post by Ted Olson. Many of us parents have a traditional view of discipline, respect, and obedience. That is, children must be taught to obey and to respect their elders. Discipline measures vary, but range from time-outs to spanking. Many of us grew up in homes where kids were to be seen and not…
Why I Don’t Like Adults
Guest post by Ted Olson. My son Thomas, 9, said “Hey daddy, you know why I don’t like adults? Well, some adults anyway?” “No, why?” I asked. “Because they think they’re better than me. They think they know everything – that they have all the answers, and that my opinion isn’t important,” he replied. “You’re…
No, I Don’t Spank My Child
I thought this image was fitting:
Permissive Parenting?
Written by Skyler Collins. Advocates for peaceful, nonviolent parenting, those who don’t use punishments in disciplining their children, are often derided as “permissive”, as if the parenting spectrum stretches between the two. Nothing could be further from the truth. Permissive parenting is as much non-parenting as punishment parenting is. Both neglect the needs of the…
Parents as the State
Written by Skyler J. Collins. Parents have a unique responsibility. They have the power to create life, and then the duty to protect it and raise it into a functioning adult. But can we say that this life that they create is theirs in the sense of materialistic ownership? I don’t think we can. If…