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…
Tag: wisdom
A Man of Few Words
Guest post by Nicole, Unschoolers.org. My husband Ted did not come to the unschooling life as quickly or as easily as I did. It was kind of a long road for him, with some serious doubts and struggles along the way. So it’s been very cool to watch as he has become increasingly confident in…
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…
Chapter 27 – On Seeing Children as “Cute”
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Five – Chapter 26 – “Why Do We Hurt Our Children?” by James Kimmell 27 On Seeing Children as “Cute” by John Holt We should try to get out of the habit of seeing little children as cute. By this I mean that we should try to be more aware…
Chapter 25 – Childhood: The Unexplored Source of Knowledge
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Five – Chapter 24 – “Natural Born Bullies” by Robin Grille 25 Childhood: The Unexplored Source of Knowledge by Alice Miller Probably ever since civilization began, people have been debating about how Evil came into the world and what we can do to combat it. There has always been a…
Chapter 21 – Whose Goal is it, Anyway?
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Four – Chapter 20 – “What is Unschooling?” by Earl Stevens 21 Whose Goal is it, Anyway? by Pam Laricchia It all started with a plant. My husband was talking about training a plant – just the right combination of water and fertilizer, the right soil and sun conditions, a…
Chapter 18 – Schooling: The Hidden Agenda
Table of Contents Previous – Section Four – Chapter 17 – “The Trouble with Traditional Schooling” by Vahram G. Diehl 18 Schooling: The Hidden Agenda by Daniel Quinn A Talk Given at the Houston Unschoolers Group Family Learning Conference. I suspect that not everyone in this audience knows who I am or why I’ve been…
Chapter 13 – Planning vs. the Free Market
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Three – Chapter 12 – “What is the Free Market?” by Murray N. Rothbard 13 Planning vs. the Free Market by Henry Hazlitt When we discuss “economic planning,” we must be clear concerning what it is we are talking about. The real question being raised is not: plan or no…
Chapter 7 – The Origin of Religious Tolerance
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section One – Voluntaryist Resources 7 The Origin of Religious Tolerance by Wendy McElroy In 1733 the philosopher credited with ushering in the French Enlightenment, François Marie Arouet de Voltaire, published Letters Concerning the English Nation. It was a pivotal work. Although written in French, the 24 letters were first issued…
Chapter 4 – The Anatomy of the State
Table of Contents Previous – Section One – Chapter 3, “Fundamentals of Voluntaryism” by Carl Watner 4 The Anatomy of the State by Murray N. Rothbard What the State Is Not The State is almost universally considered an institution of social service. Some theorists venerate the State as the apotheosis of society; others regard it…