‘m Jim Flannery and I want to help make the world a better place. I know how cornball that sounds, but my intentions are genuine and I firmly believe that promoting unschooling is a significant way to improve the human condition on a global scale.
By Peter Gray PH.D. We know how to reduce the school achievement gap, but we do the opposite. Our compulsory public school system is supposed to be “the great equalizer.” By providing the same schooling to everyone, it is supposed to promote equal opportunities for young people regardless of their […]
As a community we need proactive, positive strategies to reduce youth self-harm and suicide. Shutterstock Suicide and self-harm remain taboo topics in schools, despite the fact youth suicide has reached a ten year high. Recent statistics show around eight children and young people die by suicide each week in Australia. Around one […]
Hiking & Camping Guides Hiking With Kids, Toddlers & Infants (Without The Tantrums) Quick Tips: Do’s & Don’ts Enjoying the great outdoors is perfectly feasible even with several small kids in tow. Hiking with small children can be a wonderful experience for both parents and child, but to ensure a […]
By Idzie Desmarais My mother used to get asked, sometimes, if she was a teacher. Considering my sister and I weren’t going to school, the assumption ran that surely she must be a teacher. Surely she wouldn’t consider something so drastic as to take her children away from the hands of […]
Research has typically found that shared reading experiences are highly beneficial for young people. Shutterstock/Alfira Many of us will be able to recall the enjoyment of shared reading: being read to and sharing reading with our parents. However, my research has found that of the 997 Year 4 and Year 6 respondents […]
A fan takes a selfie with Kari Byron. 4-H National Council Mixing art and science started very early for Kari Byron. “I remember distinctly sitting there with a Cheerio box and a roll of tape, and trying to recreate a human skull, like a little sculpture,” she says, recalling her […]
By Idzie One of the most controversial topics I ever touch on is the issue of “screens.” There are a lot of strong feelings on the topic, but it probably won’t surprise anyone that I fall squarely on the side of more options rather than less, fewer limits rather than more. […]
By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn Every summer we hear from educators about the “summer slide” in academic learning (e.g. here and here). The claim is that children lose much of what they gained from school during the summer break, so time is lost catching up in the fall. Some even […]
Children benefit from previous understanding of spoken words before reading them. Africa Studio/Shutterstock Children’s oral vocabulary – their knowledge of the sounds and meanings of words – is strongly positively associated with their reading all the way through school. Understanding this relationship is important for making children’s reading as strong […]