Metaphors and language matter. If you see yourself as a slave, your imagination shrinks, and your sense of what’s possible declines. Verbiage associated with victimhood, etc. have a powerful self-enforcing tendency.
Tag: passion
Watching Children Learn Naturally
Watching children learn naturally, while following their own interests, is nothing short of astonishing. It shouldn’t be, of course. We shouldn’t be surprised that giving children freedom and autonomy, and trusting them to pursue passions most meaningful to them, would lead to deep and lasting learning. But Self-Directed Education is so rare in our widely schooled society that most of us don’t get the opportunity to see what learning without schooling (including school-at-home) looks like. Self-Directed Education, or unschooling, is strikingly different from schooling–in all of its various iterations.
Why I Love Being An Adult Unschooler
If you already know the term “unschooling” it is likely you (just like me) associate that term with children, adolescents, and teens. School aged people. We typically don’t think of adults as unschoolers, but sort of recently I was looking at my life and how I live it and had a realization… I am an unschooler, too!
Can You Explain Why Slavery is Wrong?
We’ve encountered some reasonable refutations of this premise, with the biggest critique being around the claim that it’s “self-evident”. In that way, it looks like the other weak arguments. When I’m asked to prove that I own myself, I don’t have a quick and easy answer, I can’t produce a receipt. But I am responsible for my actions, and I chose how and when to use my body. These are qualities of ownership. And even with a gun pointed at my head, the decision to cooperate is still ultimately mine. I couldn’t forfeit control if I wanted to.
Capitalism vs. Socialism: Reply to Bruenig
Since Elizabeth Bruenig has posted her whole opening debate statement, I thought I’d reply point-by-point. She’s in blockquotes; I’m not. Before I get started, though, let me say that personally, Elizabeth seems a gracious and kind human being. Still, even if I were an avid socialist, I’d be baffled by the way she tackles the issue.
Danilo Interviews Mary J. Ruwart, Author of “Healing Our World” (1h5m) – Peaceful Anarchism 034
Peaceful Anarchism 034 features an interview of Mary J. Ruwart, author of Healing Our World: The Compassion of Libertarianism, by Danilo Cuellar. Topics include: justice, the not so wild Wild West, prisons, the broken window fallacy and the state, modern poverty, economic freedom, battered citizen syndrom, neighbors, economics, private security, love, charity, and many more.
How to Develop a Mind That Clings to Nothing
If someone irritates you, it’s because you are attached to a particular way you want them to behave, and when you don’t get that way, you are unhappy. If your mind didn’t cling to what you wanted, you would be fine with how they were acting. In fact, you might have compassion for them, as you could see they are suffering.
An Unschooling Snapshot
“No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.” ~ Ansel Adams How does unschooling actually work? What does it really look like? How do children learn without being…
Substituting Passion for Reason
I do not believe a zygote has rights– you can’t violate it. I believe a full-term baby does have rights, even though it isn’t capable of exercising many of them yet. I believe those things as strongly as I believe gravity is a real force which I can depend on to be consistent, but I can’t think of a way to prove it so I can’t be 100% positive.
The Power and Danger of Being a Geek
Stories were always meant as starting points, not end points. We should hear the story from the storyteller, learn the lesson, and go out to create our own stories. One day we’ll be able to tell them, but first we’ve got to experience them.