My son comes to me about once a month complaining of boredom. I remember feeling this way when I was his age, and of course I’ve felt this way as an adult. After this last instance, I become a bit more thoughtful and began wondering where boredom comes from, why it exists. The world is full of amazing things, and as unschoolers my son has complete control over his time and what he does with it. Talking through this with my wife I made a few interesting realizations, which I’ll get to. But first, why the boredom? Here’s my theory: boredom is the absence of felt uneasiness.
Tag: children
“Buying Local” Is as Senseless as “Buying Tall”
Many advocates of “buying local” insist that buying local is good for the local economy and, hence, economically good for each person in the local economy. For a number of reasons, the economics on which the “buy local” movement rests is remarkably weak.
Debunking Common Government Claims
It’s very rare to have parking bureaucrats respond to our defense with anything other than a curt, “DENIED”. So when I got the following from a friend I was really surprised. Not surprised at the content, just because there was a detailed response at all. Since it’s full of fallacies, and short of evidence, I thought it worthwhile to debunk.
Satanic Ritual Abuse?
Although it hasn’t yet reached the mainstream, there appears to be a growing resurgence of the panic and fear mongering of the 1980s regarding the thoroughly debunked claims of “satanic ritual abuse” and widespread kidnapping for such purposes. If you are seeing this trend too, please help to counter such fantastical claims with logic and truth.
Words Poorly Used – Another Devil’s Dictionary #1
I particularly want to say thanks to my Writers Group friends who sent links that brought about quite a bit of thought in the Forelle cranial vault. Emerging is an homage to Ambrose Bierce, the author of The Devil’s Dictionary.
Empowering Hearts and Minds
All individuals act based on a particular set of morals and code of ethics. I want to know what your code is. What morals do you hold dear? What principles would you risk life and limb to protect?
Holding onto Power
I believe one of the fundamental roots of problems in many relationships is when the more powerful (more options/leverage) person assumes disagreement, frustration, or separate vision is a challenge to a persons power.
How to Drastically Improve Your Child’s Behavior In Public
We’ve all been there. The shame. The embarrassment. The Anxiety. You just wanted to go pick up a few things at the grocery store. In and out. It was supposed to be simple. But these beasts you’ve brought along with you. They’re… They’re… What are they doing? Why are they on the floor? Why are they touching that? Get back over here!
Disaster By Design
Much research of human beings tends to focus on aggregates and averages. But humans come in various shapes and sizes; they have various skills and weaknesses; they do not all travel the same road at the same pace at the same age. One would not issue the same size of clothing to every first-grader; it could come up short on some, and sag on others. Why, then, must they read from the same page of the same primers? Why do the same single-digit addition, from the same page of the same textbook?
Why Authority is Always Illegitimate
The notion of authority is about the right to control, and this quite simply cannot actually exist because no one ever has the right to control anyone other than themselves.