Rainbow-Leaf Lovejoy's Page

what does "radical unschooling" mean to you?

'Radical unschooling' means undoing all the conventional mores of 'shoulds and oughts in my own head and the culture around me and taking responsibility for my own freedom to believe and behave according to my own integrity, and providing a living and learning environment for myself and my family that enables us all to do this.

People's experience of constantly being judged against arbitrary standards by supposedly stringent criteria that schools themselves cannot achieve without constant supportive parental and other professional input is often permanently damaging to everyone in society, as is the application in many aspects of social life of supposedly authoritative normative standards. Schooling is often the main mode, medium and means by which many people unfortunately and erroneously come to believe that they cannot be their own autonomous authorities on their own lives and learning, instead coming to believe that some authoritative other should order and organise their lives.

how long have you been unschooling or homeschooling?

Really since before I actually had my children, when my decision whether to have any rested on my finding a way to raise them that would honour them as autonomous individuals from before their births, in infancy and throughout their lives.

first names of children

Rosie, f, 16, nearly 17
Rowan, m, 13,
Robin, m, 10

a little about me

Had my children late, so am middle-aged, am by inclination and study a theoretical ecosmologist (interests: epistemology ethics, and ecology of existence), was active in the UK HE campaign last year, am hoping to build on its successes and learning this year.

facebook

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000481986711

blog

http://leaflittering.wordpress.com/