Monthly Archives: February 2013

Trevor Eissler “Montessori Madness!” (Video, 6 min.)

This is a short video by Trevor Eissler, Montessori schooling advocate, on the benefits of Montessori schools. Topics include:

  • Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic motivation
  • Grades
  • Comparisons between Motessori and Public Schools
  • Maintaining a child’s spark of curiosity

The Montessori model is a wonderful, child-friendly approach to education that emphasizes independence, child-led educational freedom, and respect a child’s natural psychological development. You can find out more about Motenssori schools in your area at FindAMontessori.com.

The 3 Aims of Public Education (Podcast, 36 min.)

Introducing the three aims of public education:
Blind obedience, assimilation, and the surrender of self-ownership.

School Sucks Podcast: Episode 006: Conformity & Compliance (36 min.)

About School Sucks Project:

School Sucks Project is a podcast, You Tube channel, and on-line community dedicated to redefining education. We promote home-education, critical thinking, peaceful parenting, personal growth and nonviolent communication strategies.

What education is: a lifelong process of seeking and integrating new knowledge, an intrinsically motivated journey that serves the needs of the individual learner
What education isn’t: compulsory, institutionalized schooling

Radical Unschooling Teens Discuss: Chores, Piercings & Prom (Video, 16min.)

Dayna Martin interviews unschooled teens, Devin Martin and Rileigh Forslund. The three discuss how some common issues are approached in the Radical Unschooling model. Topics include:

  • Do the teens help out with cleaning even though they have no assigned chores?
  • How did Dayna respond to Devin’s desire to get a piercing? Did he get it as an act of teenage rebellion?
  • Unschooler individuality and acceptance of others
  • Are there cliques in groups of unschoolers?
  • What do the lives of kids in school look like to Devin and Rileigh?

Teens Answer Common Questions About Unschooling (Video, 10 min.)

Dayna Martin interviews unschooled teens, Devin Martin and Rileigh Forslund and discusses common questions about Unschooling. Topics include:

  • How do unschooled children learn to socialize without school? (And what’s wrong with socialization in schools?)
  • Do unschooled kids watch TV and play video games all day? If not, what do they do with their days?
  • How do unschoolers learn traditional academic skills like Reading, Writing, and Math?

The War on Kids (Documentary, 95 min.)

A cautionary tale for parents considering enrolling their children in public schools.

(From Wikipedia) The War on Kids is a 2009 documentary film about the American school system. The film takes a look at public school education in America and concludes that schools are not only failing to educate, but are increasingly authoritarian institutions more akin to prisons that are eroding the foundations of American democracy. Students are robbed of basic freedoms primarily due to irrational fears; they are searched, arbitrarily punished and force-fed dangerous pharmaceutical drugs. The educational mission of the public school system has been reduced from one of learning and preparation for adult citizenship to one of control and containment.

You can purchase The War on Kids DVD Online at thewaronkids.com ($20) or stream it online ($9).

You may also be able to find the documentary on YouTube for free.

The documentary was directed by Cevin Soling, an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, musician, music producer and artist.

Philosopher and full-time parent Stefan Molyneux interviewed Cevin about the documentary. You can view the entire interview here:

Cevin was also interviewed about the documentary on the popular TV show, The Colbert Report.

Cevin Soling interviewed on The Colbert Report

To learn about alternatives to enrolling your child in public school, view other posts in the Education category.

Dayna Martin on Bedtimes (Blog Post)

Co-sleepingIn a recent blog post, Dayna explains her approach as a parent to bedtimes, and answers some questions from parents in the comments section.

Last night, around ten, Orion told me he was ready to go to bed. He is only three years old. About an hour later, Ivy came crawling up the stairs and said, “I love going to bed!” She brushed her teeth, and snuggled in next to us and asked me to tickle her back.

All of my children love bedtime. I know it is because they were never forced or coerced to go to bed before they were tired and ready to. Living the Radical Unschooling life, we choose to respect our children’s natural sleep cycle. I believe this is the healthiest way for children to live, without a parent-imposed bedtime.

You can read the entire blog post at Dayna’s site.

Philosophical Parenting: Dealing with Toddler Tantrums (Video, 15 min.)

Stefan responds to the following question from a FreedomainRadio listener:

As a non spanking parent, what do you do with your toddler if he won’t leave the playground when it’s time to go? I’ve tried telling him I’m going and he’s going to be left alone and I hide so he doesn’t see me, but he doesn’t care.

German version:

The Facts About Spanking (Video, 17 min.)

The shocking science about the long-term effects of corporal punishment, essential viewing for every parent!

From the video sources:

Spanking by parents can significantly damage a child’s mental abilities and results in a lower IQ later in life, suggests a new groundbreaking study by researchers at the University of New Hampshire.  (themoneytimes.com)

Researchers found that harsh physical punishment was associated with increased odds of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug abuse/dependence, and several personality disorders after adjusting for sociodemographic variables and family dysfunction, and that if harsh physical punishment did not occur, the prevalence of certain mental disorders might have been reduced by ~2% to 7%. (repeal43.org)

Researchers reviewed some 80 research papers on the effects of corporal punishment over the past 20 years and concluded that numerous studies found physical punishment increases the risk of broad and enduring negative developmental outcomes; no study has found that physical punishment enhances developmental health; most child physical abuse occurs in the context of punishment; a professional consensus is emerging that parents should be supported in learning nonviolent, effective approaches to discipline. (repeal43.org)

Children who are spanked as 1-year-olds are more likely to behave aggressively and perform worse on cognitive tests as toddlers than children who are spared the punishment, new research our of Duke University shows. (utexas.edu)

Radical Unschooling – A Revolution Has Begun (Book)

Radical Unschooling (Book)

Radical Unschooling – A Revolution Has Begun. This book covers not only unschooling — the practice of child-lead education without school — but also parenting topics from an attachment parenting perspective, including many of the age-old challenges of parenting such as bedtimes, food, chores, etc.

In my heart of hearts, I’ve always been a Radical Unschooler. There is no doubt in my mind that families and our global community would be far healthier if this approach were embraced.
– Dr. Christiane Northrup, MD, Author of “The Secret Pleasures of Menopause” and “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom”

Full of brilliant common sense! Mrs. Martin takes us behind the curtain to see in rich detail what alternative education really looks like when it bestows upon its subjects the freedom to choose. Every parent who feels compelled to give their kids into the care of total strangers should read this book.
– John Taylor Gatto, Author of “Dumbing Us Down” and “Weapons of Mass Instruction”

Buy Radical Unschooling Online at Amazon

Sample excerpt from the book:

Chores (p27-28)

Our kids do not have “chores.” They do, however, joyfully help out around the house. Devin likes to vacuum, and Datoka and Ivy like to dust, clean windows, and sweep the kitchen. Our kids clean because it makes sense to do so. They enjoy being part of this aspect of our family living. I never make them clean their rooms. I take responsibility to keep their rooms clean because I know that if I provide them with models of clean, organized space, they will get used to having it that way and keep up with it as they get older.

Parent Effectiveness Training (Book)

P.E.T. Book Cover

P.E.T., or Parent Effectiveness Training, began almost forty years ago as the first national parent-training program to teach parents how to communicate more effectively with kids and offer step-by-step advice to resolving family conflicts so everybody wins.  This beloved classic is the most studied, highly praised, and proven parenting program in the world — and it will work for you. Now revised for the first time since its initial publication, this groundbreaking guide will show you:

 

  • How to avoid being a permissive parent
  • How to listen so kids will talk to you and talk so kids will listen to you
  • How to teach your children to “own” their problems and to solve them
  • How to use the “No-Lose” method to resolve conflicts

Using the timeless methods of P.E.T. will have immediate results: less fighting, fewer tantrums and lies, no need for punishment. Whether you have a toddler striking out for independence or a teenager who has already started rebelling, you’ll find P.E.T. a compassionate, effective way to instill responsibility and create a nurturing family environment in which your child will thrive.

Buy Parent Effectiveness Training Online at Amazon

P.E.T. is written by Thomas Gordan. Who is Thomas Gordan, and why should you pay attention to him? (From Wikipedia):

  • American clinical psychologist
  • Pioneer in teaching communication skills and conflict resolution methods to parents, teachers, leaders, women, youth and salespeople
  • In 1962, introduced Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.), a course which is widely recognized as the first skill-based training program for parents
  • To date, the P.E.T. book (revised in 2000) has been published in 33 languages and sold over five million copies. Over a million people have participated in the course in 45 countries around the world.