what are the long term ramifications of unschooling for our kids? an editorial discussion between HEM’s editor and publisher

     Barb: I’ve spent the last 30 years of my life wondering whether unschooling my kids would really make a difference in how they feel about themselves, their connection to others and society, their understanding of the human condition and what makes the world go ’round. My kids are now all grown up and I am still wondering, observing, and thinking about this. I hold a fundamental belief that life should be simple, and yet dissecting such a question is complex indeed. It’s a beautiful truth that their childhoods, our family life, was rich, fun, exciting and spontaneous with many, many steep, fast-paced learning curves. We lived a magical existence and, for the most part, felt on top of the world: my children were empowered with the knowledge that not only were they never expected to do anything they did not want to do, but that their parents would support their wide and varied forms of emotional, psychological, spiritual, artistic and academic expression. We trusted each of our children’s natural learning processes, engaged in lots of discussion, listened to each other, applied consensual decision-making. Despite all the freedom and fun in childhood, all three of my grown children, once [...]

what are the long term ramifications of unschooling for our kids? an editorial discussion between HEM’s editor and publisher

improv sewing book GIVEAWAY!

IMPROV SEWING: 101 fast, fun, and fearless projects!  To enter the contest to receive one, click here and fill out the entry form. For more information or to just buy the book so you are certain to get this gem,  see this book on Amazon.

improv sewing book GIVEAWAY!

why Aaron mattered

Grown unschooler Lauren Wales writes about unschooler Aaron Swartz’s life and her own deeply personal struggle with controlled knowledge.   Read the full article here.

why Aaron mattered

Bridgeway Academy

Bridgeway Academy

Bridgeway Academy

Take a look at what’s coming up in our March-April issue!

As HEM moves into our exciting future in full support of each person – whether child, teen or adult – creating thoughtful, electric, passionate, peaceful, wild, innovative, unique, serene, exuberant, productive, caring lives … each in our own way, we invite you to take a look at a preview of what’s coming up in our next issue, below. If you’re not a subscriber, we invite you to become one!

Take a look at what’s coming up in our March-April issue!

write for HEM

We publish stories and articles from families who empower their children and teens to live a life rich with self-directed experimentation, thought and action.  Whether you are new to this lifestyle or experienced, whether your child/teen chooses to play all day or attend school (yes! self-directed people sometimes choose school!), we would love to read your story.  We are also interested in stories of parents in such families who are learning, reinventing and unschooling themselves in the midst of family life. We welcome a diverse range of people, families and experiences. We will pay you for each article/story we print and for each of your photos we use. See our writer’s guidelines for more submission information and payment rates. We are currently in search of your experience, insight and wisdom in the following areas: We want to hear about the fresh, bright ways your family is learning and exploring the world together. Tell us about the ways you have successfully dealt with challenges in your family, ranging from divorce and illness, sibling or familial conflict, boredom, nay saying friends and relatives and more.   Tell us how you have learned to maneuver the challenges of letting go of control and honor your child’s inner [...]

write for HEM

The Sensory Deprived Education Known as School by John Taylor Gatto

   Is there a close connection between isolated confinement and the horrible conditions in our public schools? I am certain there is because once my field program school was up and running, my relationships with my students became much more productive, their work inspiring enough to restore belief in the prodigious feats of George Washington, Ben Franklin, et. al., when they were of student age. Just by being treated with dignity and respect and given some reality-based task to perform seemed to be enough to work the transformation from irrelevant clowns to worthy young men and women who could add value to the general community.One of our class projects was lobbying the monument to the Beatles past the Landmarks Preservation Commission, another was suing a pizza parlor in small claims court for discriminating against public school students, a third was testing prices on the government market basket of food products against local store charges to determine best shopping venues in our neighborhood; we also launched an after school fresh fruit/vegetable stand with rock bottom prices; I drove the kids to the wholesale market in the Bronx at 4 a.m. to stock this operation which sold out every day it was [...]

The Sensory Deprived Education Known as School by John Taylor Gatto

Smart Technologies: Are They Making Us Less Than Human? by Michael Mendizza

To understand why I think that smart technologies are not as smart as they appear we need to share some appreciation for the fact that harmonic resonance is different from superficial sensation. We know that a mother’s emotional state directly influences the nature and quality of the body and brain developing as her unborn child. We know that frequencies generated by the heart inform every cell of the body, moment by moment, of one’s relationship with everything. We know that inner ‘states’ of relationship are mirrored by hormones which shape perceptions, generate feelings of dis-ease or wholeness. We know that these radiant signals extend at least fifteen to twenty feet beyond the body. We know that each changing frequency implies a different meaning. We know that all living things are sensitive to and are affected by these signals. We know that DNA is dependent on this harmonic resonance and that all life depends on it. What we call bonding, mother to baby, child to family, to the tribe, to all of nature, to culture and the cosmos, is the shared meaning and expanding identity brought about by this invisible energetic connection. This is what I mean by resonance. Read the [...]

Smart Technologies: Are They Making Us Less Than Human? by Michael Mendizza

Finding Hope in Tragedy, by Teresa Brett

Just as we are each reflections of the world, the world is transformed by our commitment to change. When we are on the sidelines of the kind of violence we saw in Newtown, Connecticut we try to find some way to make sense of what has happened. We ask questions and seek answers to this kind of violence. We try and make sense of what seems so senseless. How can the loss of so many children make sense? Some want to name it evil and see it as an anomaly, rather than a symptom of the larger disconnections in our culture. Some call for policies that we believe will keep this from happening again, wanting to put responsibility on lobbying groups, the government, or some other system or institution. Some look to violence in the media, television and video games. Some blame music that glorifies a culture of violence. Although there may not be easy answers, some of those answers lie within each of us. Read Teresa’s beautiful and in-depth response to understanding violence in our March-April issue. Subscribe.

Finding Hope in Tragedy, by Teresa Brett

Independence Day, by Carrie Jay Sayer

  One year ago, I inspired Ben to walk away from corporate America.   A little background: I used to dream small. I wished for a job that had casual Fridays. I prayed for snow days. I wanted someone to rescue me. I was stuck in the victim role for decades.   I got sick of giving away my power. I was waiting for someone to take care of me. When I met Ben, everything changed. Ben and I simultaneously take care of each other and ourselves. We are kindred spirits. We inspire each other. We trust each other. We share life philosophy with a foundation in unschooling.   Ben and I have been unschoolers since before Logan and Paige were born. We knew we wanted to spend as much time as possible with our kids. We refused to throw them to the wolves and participate in the artificial, rigid, rule-ridden world of institutionalized education.   Our children were the first in our family to be free. I birthed both naturally. They breastfed for years as needed and desired. I wore them as they wished. Ben and I embraced Connection Parenting, an extension of attachment parenting. Logan and Paige eat [...]

Independence Day, by Carrie Jay Sayer