Conflict is an essential piece when people are learning and living life together, and it is necessary. There are many different ways to engage in and approach conflict, and many ways it shows up in SDE communities and unschooling families. Listen to our panel discussion about the different ways conflict is approached at their centers, in their Flying Squads, and in their individual SDE relationships.

Self-Directed Education (SDE) principles are often talked about in relation to older kids, but what does this mean in the context of caretaking and raising babies? Like in all of SDE, there is no one way to do things, but many guiding values with a basis in trust and respect for young people. Hear about what SDE means to us in the context of caring for the youngest humans, and our collective struggles, questions, ideas, and successes as we raise our babies as free people.

Finding comfort in a community full of alternatively educated folks and truly feeling like I belong

April’s Open Call was about playing with the concept of advertising SDE – What does an SDE ad feel like? What does it highlight? Does […]

Rural communities have the fewest educational choices. They default, therefore, to the local public school, which is a disservice to their kids. SDE could be their escape.

DEcentralization and Ownership of web 3 is asking “Where is DEcentralization & Ownership in education?” Unknowingly, web 3 will “create” what it thinks does not exist. Self-Directed Learning is DEcentralized Learning owned by Learners & supported by adults. Web 3 tools including blockchain, DAOs and DeFi invite us to “on chain” SDL, celebrate self governance in a DAO and find solutions in new funding models. Some folks on Web 3 Blvd are oblivious to the folks on UNschooling Ave. Some folks on UNschooling Ave are fearful and distrusting of Web 3 Blvd. I am yelling up the street for everyone to “MEET ME @ THE CORNER!” Let’s PLAY!

What are the underpinnings of a young person’s transition to adulthood? What do healthy and satisfying adult lives look like? Using a discussion-based approach, we explored how adult allies (in families, SDE centers, youth groups, etc.) can support young people in their transition to adulthood while encouraging and respecting their autonomy and independence.

In this article, I emphasize the subjective or personal nature of learning per my recent PhD research.

The Vawisai model of SDE was recently ruled to close by a Board of Education lawsuit.

“I think I want to try out conventional school.” This sentence can be alarming for those of us who are committed to an SDE and unschooling path. But there are many reasons young people might be compelled to try out school. Listen to this panel for an honest discussion about how this has come up in their family, reasons why young people might want to try out school, what the conversation is like when talking about joining school, and ways to navigate the school system when your SDE kid is in it.

In this session, we talk about what education and learning can mean when we begin to see children as whole, complex, capable people. We discuss all the various ways young people learn and how reducing learning to something concrete and measurable strips it of the many ways it can happen and look like. We also talk about why it even matters to recognize learning, by discussing invisible learning as a way to push back on dominant narratives around children, education and learning.

A poem about unparenting

A workshop on the role storytelling can play in self-directed education and how we can support ourselves and others in creating and collaborating

After having led many discussions on screen time, Brooklyn brings a different angle to this year’s SDE weekend, with a focus on the quality and values pop culture and screens bring to our lives. The idea of youth accessing popular media can be scary. Moving past the conventional; discussion of managing your youths’ time on screens, Brooklyn will explore how opening up to popular media brings a deeper world view for the whole family. How dissolving value judgments brings trust to our relationships with our youth and how to build media literacy and online safety into your family culture.

Self-Directed Education, not progressive education, is the wave of the future.

In self-directed education, adults act as passion-driven role models, offering students silent invitations to explore diverse interests and showcasing alternative paths of learning and growth.

This is a collection of Flash Fiction (1,000 words or less) that was submitted to Tipping Points Magazine starting October 16, 2023.

Rosalia presented on the different aspects of body autonomy, boundaries, and consent. This foundational education is the basis for raising empowered children that understand their rights, but also the rights of others, and how this can create the robust and more effective transition to body safety education as the child develops.

How to recognize and process the thoughts and behaviors in educators, parents, and students that can compromise the integrity of your SDE practice

It is not uncommon for one parent to be all in (or mostly in!) on SDE, and for another to be skeptical or, sometimes, completely against it. This can be such a difficult situation, but one that many of us encounter. Listen to our panel discussion to hear the ways different families approach this and how it shows up for them.