the network for radical unschooling families
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Meredith
- Female
- Dismal, TN (yes, really)
- United States
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Meredith's Groups
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Grace Llewelyn's Not B...
21 members
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Gardeners of RUN
50 members
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Financially Free!!!
73 members
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Unschooling Dream
48 members
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Autodidact Radical Gat...
23 members
Meredith's Discussions
Radically Unschooling "Special Children"
Replied 21 minutes ago
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- what does "radical unschooling" mean to you?
- Radical unschooling is a really different paradigm of adult-child interactions. Its challenging to envision relationships outside a model of limits and testing and adult-based decision making - it sounds wacky. How can you have relationships without limits? Craziness.
Start someplace else. Start from ideas of exploration and autonomy and connections. Human beings are all about exploration and autonomy and connections - especially children.
From a radical unschooling perspective, children don't need limits in the sense that conventional parenting assumes. Limits are a natural part of life - the sun goes down, flowers fade, moms get tired, people miscommunicate. Natural limits. RU isn't about ignoring those or pretending they don't exist, its about finding ways to facilitate all that exploration and autonomy and connecting over and around and through the limits. Limits aren't the tools we use to manipulate the world and each other, they're the playground equipment we get to climb on.
- how long have you been unschooling or homeschooling?
- Ten years.
Okay, short summary of our strange life. I met Ray when he was 4 and having some very challenging times. He was pretty over-the-top and sometimes explosive. Yeeoow. Somehow, George and I fumbled along and found ways to help Ray - radical unschooly ways, if only we had known what that was! But we didn't, and started homeschooling. The more we drifted towards unschooling, the better life got! By the time Mo was born, Ray's life had gotten much easier - he wasn't nearly so explosive or extreme (still high energy, though!).
About a year after Mo was born, Ray's mom decided she was ready for him to live with her full time and go to school. We didn't stand in the way of that. Over time, Ray's intensity and explosiveness started to build back up until he finally pulled a knife on his mom's boyfriend. At that point he moved back in with us. He was 13 and in the process of being expelled from school.
In the intervening years we'd discovered radical unschooling! Hooray for all of us!
- names and ages of children
- Morgan is 7 and has been unschooled from the beginning, whenever that was.
Ray is 15. He's my stepson and you can read a very short history of my life with him above.
George is my partner and both kids' dad. He is sweet and strange and is also committed to radical unschooling, although he doesn't talk about it nearly as much as I do.
- a little about me
- I'm either slightly eccentric or a complete weirdo - its all in the eye of the beholder.
I quilt and knit and do all manner of homey things. I even built my own house! Nowadays I'm the breadwinner of the family, I make plaster accents and architectural details.
Comment Wall (31 comments)
- At 2:32am on September 3, 2009,
Shannon D. Burton said… - I'm not sure if this is the place for entries into the blog carnival for sept....if not, please forgive me! . The heading is "Food and Assumptions - a True Unfettering".
Thanks for reading! =)
shan
- At 12:58pm on September 2, 2009,
lisa said… - i sent you something for the cooking blog carnival. can you let me know if you didn't get it?
thanks!
:) lisa
- At 3:17pm on June 21, 2009,
Elisabeth said… - Here is a link to a blog post I wrote about my travel dreams.... for the July Blog Carnival
- At 1:15pm on June 7, 2009,
Rachael S said… - Thanks for your input and suggestions about being new to social, topic specific websites, Meredith. I really needed to hear it and your delivery was gentle and understanding. I jumped in way too fast and ultimately added more negativity than help. I didn't want to respond on the thread directly anymore, but I have read your most recent comments in regard to a comment of mine, and I appreciate your wisdom and compassion. I have a lot to learn, clearly, in more ways than I thought, and it's voices like yours that will help me along the way.
Thanks again.
- At 5:09pm on April 26, 2009,
Bea Marshall said… - hi meredith. i've been following a couple of threads where you happen to have posted a few replies. what you say is really encouraging to me. i feel like i'd like to follow you around for a few weeks and soak it all up!!!!!!
i often feel quite lacking confidence with RU and where we're at with it. also i feel confused and unsure oftentimes but things you say are clear and wise. thank you!
- At 4:25pm on March 31, 2009,
Beth E. said… - Hi Meredith! I am trying to get active on this site ever since Lavinia kindly reminded me that I am a member. We met at ARGH. I have a daughter who is a fairy. Remember? Is Mo on this site? Elise just joined and would love to keep up with her friends from ARGH. How is everyone?
- At 3:18pm on February 26, 2009,
Faith said… - hi send the link to my gmail. I am littlemsvoid.
thx
- At 7:18am on January 17, 2009,
Rain Fordyce said… - Meredith,
Ooooh! I love this! You are so creative to think of this solution! I just went to your blog and I love you live somewhere so beautiful called dismal! lol! Love it! Sometimes I wonder if people gave the name so no one would take over their sacred spot...
So nice to connect.
smiles and joy
- At 4:34am on January 17, 2009,
Julie B said… - Sounds good. Send your address, and I'll mail the Teen Lib one. :-)
- At 9:53am on January 16, 2009,
Beth Fleming said… - Thanks for becoming my friend, Meredith. I love the way you word things here and on the yahoo groups..... Thanks for writing so clearly about your life. I'm working on becoming more eloquent about unschooling (and other things, too! ;))
Best for the new year!
Peace,
Beth
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