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What I am reading - Winter 2013

by Beverley Paine

Bring on the learning revolution! is another video from Sir Ken Robinson, a poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk in which he makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning and for creating conditions in which children's natural talents can flourish.
https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_learning_revolutionl

Laura Grace Weldon Politeness Recovery in Progress http://lauragraceweldon.com/2013/05/23/politeness-recovery-in-progress: I'm struggling with the concept of an "authentically lived life". Sometimes it feels like I have multiple versions of myself and they all feel like me. It can be confusing, even for me. Working to meet the (assumed) comfort zone needs of others keeps me in my 'polite authentic' zone.

One of the significant things I discovered home educating my children was the effect of personality on outcome: one of the arguments against home education is that children closeted away from multitudes of same-age peers and in close and constant contact with family members will produce unquestioning adults with the same values and attitudes as their parents. It is simply not true. Home education allows children greater opportunity to grow into who they are; it supports their individual development in a way that school educators can only dream about.

7 Reasons why you must read aloud to children: https://bacirc.edublogs.org/2013/05/18/keep-reading-to-your-kids-the-seven-reasons-why/... If you need convincing! Not sure about the 'must' in the title although I definitely think reading aloud with children is a great idea.

Are you playing the role of 'mother' is an awesome article by Pam Laricchia about being a parent where she encourages us to "move beyond playing at being a mother and 'be' it", learning to value our work of being a mother, being fully present in that role, instead of "buying into the conventional idea that parenting is second-class work": http://livingjoyfully.ca/blog/2013/05/are-you-playing-the-role-of-mother/ .

Another great article by homeschooling veteran Linda Dobson: 10 Questions to Help Gauge the Quality of your Child's Education , useful if your child is learning at school or at home: http://www.parentatthehelm.com/11444/10-questions-to-help-gauge-the-quality-of-your-childs-education-2/ .

Four recordings from the Alternatives to Compulsory Education conference, held on April 27, 2013, at Harvard University, are now available for public viewing. http://www.johnholtgws.com/pat-farengas-blog/2013/5/16/alternatives-to-compulsory-education-videos. Featuring: Cevin Soling: Why We Need Alternatives; Pat Farenga: Homeschooling and Unschooling; Peter Gray on The Importance of Play and his new book, Free To Learn; and Peter Bergson, Open Connections: One Approach to Partnership Education.

And yet another video by Sir Ken Robinson! How to Escape Education's Death Valley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX78iKhInsc outlines three principles crucial for the human mind to flourish, and how current education culture works against them.

I talk to many, many families transitioning from school to school-at-home to homeschooling and unschooling. Learning to feel comfortable with learning naturally is a journey most often referred to as de-schooling. I always enjoy Wendy's writing about life learning (aka self-directed learning, unschooling, natural learning) - her artice Freedom or Control? looks at the rights of children: http://www.lifelearningmagazine.com/0408/freedom_or_control.htm

And finally a quote from my daughter, now a mother:

"Never assume that because you can buy a product for a baby, that it is considered safe to use. Never assume that because someone's advice is published, that they're writing is accurate. Never assume that your instincts must be wrong because a professional is telling you differently. Trust your instincts. Question authority. Read with an open and questioning mind. Peace." April Jermey


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Beverley Paine with her children, and their home educated children, relaxing at home.

Together with the support of my family, my aim is to help parents educate their children in stress-free, nurturing environments. In addition to building and maintaing this website, I continue to create and manage local and national home educating networks, help to organise conferences and camps, as well as write for, edit and produce newsletters, resource directories and magazines. I am an active supporter of national, state, regional and local home education groups.

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Welcome to the World of Home Education
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We began educating our children in 1985, when our eldest was five. In truth, we had helped them learn what they need to learn since they were born. I am a passionate advocate of allowing children to learn unhindered by unnecessary stress and competition, meeting developmental needs in ways that suit their individual learning styles and preferences. Ours was a homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning family! There are hundreds of articles on this site to help you build confidence as a home educating family. We hope that your home educating adventure is as satisfying as ours was! Beverley Paine

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