By Idzie Desmarais I’m Unschooled. Yes, I Can Write Unschooling is all about respecting and trusting children. So when people who have liked my unschooling Facebook page start defending the practice of hitting children, I’m baffled as well as upset. Because the thing is, and I can’t state this strongly […]
You can help your children investigate any online hoax. Shutterstock/junpinzon It’s a parent’s responsibility to protect their children from harm, no matter where that threat of harm comes from. But what if the threat is a hoax? We’ve seen recently a rollercoaster of panic from parents trying to protect their […]
For most people human rights have increased, but for children they have shrunk. By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn We’ve made progress in many realms of civil rights over the past decades in the U.S. The rights of African Americans, women, gays and lesbians, and handicapped people have expanded, thanks […]
By Idzie Desmarais This post was originally published on Patreon in January of 2018. If you become a supporter for $1 a month you gain access to a brand new, patron exclusive post every month, along with the entire back catalog of Patreon posts. A few of them eventually make it onto […]
Those seeking natural living and learning environments for children, especially children, in need, could get together to discuss possible solutions to an issue many have likely observed. The, not intended, abuse of children by agencies that were created to help children in need. I am referring specifically to governmental social […]
By Idzie Desmarais Every now and then, someone talks about what type of people unschooling “produces.” They want to know about the products at the end of the line. I flinch, a little, when I see that. I know the phrasing isn’t intentionally bad. Usually, people are genuinely curious and not […]
Some problems can be solved best by taking a break from trying to solve them. By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn I begin this essay by listing five quite striking, possibly counterintuitive findings from research on problem solving. 1. People who show the symptoms of ADHD—notably, a tendency to be easily distracted […]
www.shutterstock.com In the past decade, federal government agencies and their state regulators have packaged most things in education in Australia. Big education decisions, like what to teach and what should be tested, are largely made in capital cities. These moves have all been made in the name of improving standards, […]
By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn Converging evidence shows a major shift toward independence around age four. My earliest clear memories of events I experienced, which are not simply memories of stories told to me about my childhood, are from when I was 4 years old. I know, because those memories are clearly situated […]
Attending an elite college provides no long-term advantage to most students. By Peter Gray Ph.D. Freedom to Learn It’s no secret that young people today are stressed. A poll by the American Psychological Association revealed that high school kids are the most stressed out people in America and 83% of […]