Radical Learning Talks

In this episode we are chatting with Alex Bretas, a Brazilian visionary, author, community organizer and a leading voice in the SDE movement. We talk about why it's so hard for adults to learn how to self-direct, what stands in the way that we need to unlearn, the importance of community and the difference between formal and informal studies. For Alex, there's no doubt: self-direction is the way humans learn!

In this episode we share our perception of what our role as unschooling parents is.  For us, the most critical thing in unschooling is understanding that more than anything, what our kids need is for us to do some serious inner work on ourselves. That means it's not so much about “doing things right”, but rather focusing on the relationship we’re building with our kids. Why? Because relationships are the context in which all learning happens!

What do you do when you realize that your dream project no longer matches how you want to feel or how you want to do things? Well, in our case, when it comes to our ALC Explora, we decided to deschool the whole project! What will it look like? Listen in and learn more about it!

In this episode, we dive deep with Chemay Morals-James, founder of My Reflection Matters Village and a social liberation & equity coach.  We talk about her virtual deschooling community and deschooling as decolonization work, what's wrong with the school system and the importance of learning - and unlearning - in community.

There are times in our lives when we just know something is off and needs to shift, but we don't exactly what or how. In this episode we talk about some signs that tell us that our lense needs to shift around learning, parenting, relationships and community.  We talk about how this is the initial spark of all deschooling work and why this is our focus in our upcoming training - The Shift!

One of the biggest fears of us parents is fucking up our kids. Therefore most of us are doing all we can to find a parenting style and an education that will guarantee that our kids turn into good, successful humans.  But is there really any foolproof method? Isn't it all a huge experiment? Unschooling for sure is, and instead of hiding it, in this episode we embrace the fact that yes, we are experimenting with our kids!

In this episode we have a blast with Lucy AitkenRead, a bad-ass unschooler and unschooling mom that works to support parents on their deschooling/unschooling journey.  We cover soooo many topics in this chat: how the unschooling movement is evolving, how we've all been wounded by school, how deschooling is deep healing work - and so much more!

Have you ever been in a situation with your kid where you suddenly feel the urge to teach them something you think is valuable and find yourself shoveling knowledge down their throats?  We call those teaching moments, and they're as yucky as they sound! In this episode we'll dissect what this very common phenomenon is about, why we dislike it so much and what to do instead.

We were a little drained recording this one after a big week of some unpleasant but necessary learning experiences in navigating being free in an unfree world.  So many questions...how do we navigate different values and beliefs between our unschooling/deschooling world and the dominant culture? How do we meet others that may be bound by old beliefs? What is the responsibility we adults/parents hold in supporting our kids to navigate these worlds as we are all working hard to bridge the gaps and create more togetherness and connection in this world? How do we navigate our multicultural (unschooling and schoolish) experiences? It may not be the most upbeat episode but we start to dive into it all here.

In this episode we chat with Crystal Byrd Farmer an autistic person of color that runs an ALC focused on supporting neurodivergent kids and the author of the book “The Token: Common Sense Ideas for Increasing Diversity in Your Organization” .  This interview is packed with so much… we talk about supporting neurodivergent & disabled kids in SDE spaces, deschooling as a tool for deprogramming beliefs and expectations imposed by dominant culture, how SDE is anti-oppression work by advocating for children's rights, how we can move towards building spaces focused on equity, inclusivity and diversity, how to avoid burnout by holding firm boundaries, and SO much more.