The state needs the general public to be ignorant, but it doesn’t simply stand aside hoping that people left to their own devices will end up that way.
Tag: schooling
How Mass Schooling Perpetuates Inequality
For kids like Matt, schooling can bring out the worst behaviors. Like a trapped tiger–angry and afraid–they rebel. Unable to conform properly to mass schooling’s mores, they get a label: troubled, slow learner, poor, at-risk. They will carry these scarlet letters with them throughout their 15,000 hours of mandatory mass schooling, emerging not with real skills and limitless opportunity, but further entrenched in their born disadvantage.
Episode 077 – Jordan’s Journey (1h11m)
Episode 077 welcomes Jordan Vaughn Neal to the podcast to chat with Skyler about his journey to voluntaryism. Topics include: golf, the anarchy in cooperative games, Facebook discussions/debates, being Canadian and dual citizenship, public school in Canada, his parents’ careers, moving to the United States, complete disinterest in high school, LDS mission to East Germany and the libertarian seeds that were planted, his passion for computer science and programming, a Society Security law firm job he held, Stefan Molyneux’ influence on his libertarianism and peaceful parenting, the War on Drugs, overcoming biases, subjective theory of value and economic thinking, and his wife and his commitment to radical unschooling.
Public Education Vs. Public Schooling
The primary difference between public education and public schooling is that the former is openly accessible and self-directed, while the latter is compulsory and coercive. Both are community-based and taxpayer-funded; both can lead to an educated citizenry. But public education–like public libraries, public museums, public parks, community centers, and so on—can support the education efforts of individuals, families, and local organizations with potentially better outcomes than the static system of mass schooling.
Challenging Societal Defaults
The problem with mass schooling is that it is not serving children well. It kills creativity, punishes individuality, and pathologizes difference. As mass schooling expands and becomes more restrictive, there is mounting evidence that it is causing serious psychological harm to many children. In addition to these troubling outcomes, mass schooling simply isn’t working. Children aren’t learning.
Why You Should Pull Your Kid Out of School
Kudos to these parents for listening to their parental instincts, despite pressure from the school to do otherwise. They saw that forcing their son to read at age 6, before he was ready, was causing him to hate reading and despise books. They recognized that the rigidity and uniformity characteristic of the mass schooling model was smothering their son’s curiosity and innate, self-educative ability.
Episode 076 – Chris’s Journey (1h40m)
Episode 076 welcomes Chris Jenkins to the podcast to discuss his journey to voluntaryism, with Skyler and Morgan. The topics covered include: Cash Flow, the game, the Robert Kiyosaki and Jeff Berwick encounter, his paralegal career, his K-12 public schooling experience and being labeled slow, forced into Resource classes and not allowed out, his complete disinterest in all things school, his LDS mission to Philadelphia and Dover, his wife and kids, their schooling experience, his neo-conservative days during the 2008 election, first paying attention to Ron Paul in 2012, his interest in affiliate marketing, becoming a libertarian in 2012 and an anarchist in 2013-2014, the attacks he suffered by the City of Bountiful over his rental property, why having people close to you with different opinions can make for enlightening discussions, and his favorite podcasts.
Hard is Not the Same as Hate
The hard stuff in school is stuff we’re forced to do against our will and rarely has any connection to our own goals and desires. We learn to see escape from hated stuff as equal to escape from hard stuff. This is tragic.
Episode 074 – Russ’s Journey, Part One: Politics (51m)
Episode 074 welcomes Russ Fugal to the podcast in a two part conversation with Skyler and Morgan. The topics covered in this first part include smartphones, career moves, Russ’s childhood homeschooling, his unchanging degree of conservatism during the 9/11 crisis period, Ron Paul and the 2008 and 2012 elections, environmentalism, his evolution toward libertarianism and anarchism, “Who would Jesus incarcerate?”, voluntary prisons, and the country’s Wizard of Oz moment c/o of Donald Trump.
Treat Your Children Like They Deserve Great Things
If the world is abusive, you are probably a negligent parent by not abusing your child. As a huge advocate for children, gentle parenting, unschooling, etc. that would seem like a crazy position, but roll with me for a minute.