Climbing a Tree and Explorative Learning | Phantom Rickshaw Life

Climbing a Tree and Explorative Learning | Phantom Rickshaw Life

I experienced parenthood as a gauntlet of having to choose between honoring my children's autonomy and needs, and people pleasing.
This interview with Supriya made me reflect back on the last decade of my parenting journey, and how terrifying those early years were. There's a period of time where people are kind if your baby cries, and then a long stretch where a child's every public meltdown is the parent's fault and shame comes strong and fast from all directions.
And then, you learn how to prevent meltdowns and co-regulate but they mostly require setting boundaries. And once you start setting boundaries, the judgement comes at you even more.
Not to mention what happens after--trying to build your own communities of people who trust kids, and all the mess and conflict of community building.
Supriya, like my previous interview with Sue, is "just a mom"--and has a lot to say about that framing.
https://untanglingourselves.com/episode/9bb1d62c/shifting-to-trust-with-supriya-narang
Pat Farenga discussing Ivan Illich's "Deschooling Society":
"he makes a very powerful case that it [school] is indeed a modern ritual that we've created. Based on his studies of religious practice, religion, and his understanding of rituals and their purpose. As he says in the book the ritual of schooling hides--like most rituals do--it hides what happens. So if you do the rain dance, and the rain doesn't happen, it's not because the ritual is wrong. It's because you didn't do it hard enough. You didn't pray hard enough. You didn't mean it enough. So the ritual has that thing of protecting the servers of the ritual at the expense of those in it. And he said that in education what happens, those who have the most money or advantage continue to have it. And schooling is not addressing the people who need it the most, but instead uses the ritual to make them feel ashamed, to remediate them, to keep knocking them back."
#unschooling
The Unschooling Summit
March 20-22
https://www.theunschoolingsummit.org/
INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS ยท ROUNDTABLES ยท WORKSHOPS ยท COMMUNITY SESSIONS
Whether you are just exploring, already started, or a seasoned unschooling parent, this Summit is your gateway to insights from 60+ unschooling experts, access to a global community, and engaging live sessions.
Badge shop is open, and most designs are in stock! If you need any little presents for friends, it might be worth a look :-)
(plus a bisexuality zine and a creativity zine)
https://uncharted-worlds.org/identitybadges/
#bisexual #trans #queer #polyamory #neurodivergence #pansexual #allies #pronouns #NonSchoolEducation #HomeEducation #Unschooling #badges #ButtonBadges #zines #creativity
Here are some things that I am interested in that my kids have gotten curious about too:
- calisthenics. I enjoy doing things like pushups, pull-ups and squats. My kids will try to do them too.
- running. I like running and have done a 5k recently. I would jog while pushing the kids in a stroller. Now my older son will race me while I push my younger son in the stroller. We look like a bunch of maniacs, but it's fun!
- Mastodon. I will read different posts, and they will ask about the different people that they see. As you know, you can learn some obscure things here ๐.
- bird watching. I got back into it during the pandemic. The kids like doing the sound ID with the Merlin app.
- math. I really enjoy math. It comes up all the time. My older son has been enjoying finding situations where he can do division.
Some are more closely related to school subjects than other, but all involve learning.
I really like unschooling, because it meshes with my experience that kids are natural learners. But it can really throw people off; they say things like how will kids learn if they don't go to school? The unschooling approach is to first take the brakes off that are preventing learning. Things like forcing kids to learn topics on the school's schedule, grading, and limiting movement for good chunks of the day. These things can seem necessary and effective, but tend to limit self-motivated learning. And they are no fun! The more these pressures are lifted, kids have time to explore their own interests, which leads to rich learning.
With unschooling, there is still plenty for adults to do to help support kids with learning. We can express interest in whatever they find cool. We can help when they get stuck or something is more difficult than expected. And we can explore our own interests and share them with the kids. The kids will want to see what you're up to.
I understand why people approve of violent coercive social systems -- they benefit from them! But to deny the obvious fact that violence is required to keep the system working is so transparently self-delusion I'd think they'd be embarrassed to expose themselves.
@[email protected] @[email protected] Who the heck said a single word about violence? "It is required" does not in any way imply "at gunpoint." This law is not in any way enforced at gunpoint in any country I know of. Even here in America with all its *numerous* problems with violence it is not. The most violent thing I know of is if a parent continues to refuse to do basic required things for their child, the child may be separated. (This I will qualify as violence in its own way, but the safety of the child does matter too. It is complicated and will not fit character limits.) That is done in a courtroom, not at gunpoint. If your country uses guns to enforce this, then I will agree that that is not ok. Anyone who ever points a gun at a child is inherently broken.