School's Out

Show Notes: 0:00 Do we need to allow ourselves to cross that line and then be willing to come back? We need to admit that we experience the full range of emotions. We need to stop trying to be perfect. The respect is coming back from the wrongdoing, it’s not never doing wrong. What about a cool-down period? Do we need to give it time before we try to repair? Some of this cool down time is because I need time to figure out why I’m reacting the way I am. There are deeper issues I need to identify before I’m ready to respond. 10:00 Family storytelling Kids love to hear the stories of our childhood because it helps them relate to us. 14:00 Desensitized by Punishment 16:45 Kids are People 18:50 Assuming Positive Intent There’s an idea that kids are being malicious, and it’s a harmful assumption to make. Like wanting attention isn’t a bad thing. And, it’s usually not that long they want it. 23:00 Why are kids bad at getting our attention positively? Kids are great observers but not great interpreters. We train them to stop asking for attention. 27:00 Giving Permission is a Huge Theme in our Work 29:30 Getting Past Unschooling 101 If you just think of unschooling as learning from life then the relationship becomes the most important part. 36:00 Can we control our kids? 40:00 Authenticity Lean into the happy. 42:30 How can we cherish these times? Retelling the stories, creating the oral history. We have to be willing to repair. 45:00 Challenging the negative parenting narrative

Encouraging students to follow their passions is a big priority in our culture but I have questions about what that means and what it should look like.

There's a common idea in parents that kids need to be entertained. Here's some thoughts on it.

Disagreeing isn't the problem, especially when it comes to children. Because it's valuable. Just imagine if every time you disagreed with someone another person came in and shut you down. That solves nothing. Thoughts?

We are our child's first teacher. And they are our apprentice. That principle makes me think about how much they learn from me by just watching me and trying to do the things I do. It makes me want to do better things, actually.

Play Deficit Disorder: A National Crisis by Philip Mott

Brady is a high school senior who is learning that value of getting out there and networking to get an early start on his career. We sat down to talk about school and what kinds of projects he's tackling. If you like technology and watching the learning process, Brady is a great person to get to know a little more. He's very active on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brady-anderson-2750b9148/ For more interviews and content go to www.philipmott.com

School can be just the worst. Some students seem to fly through it with no problems. They make friends, they get along with teachers, their parents seem to like them. Others can't seem to catch a break. The work is boring and irrelevant and you don't feel heard or seen by your teachers. I think we could design school differently to be more responsive to students' needs.

Don Wettrick is not your typical high school teacher. He admits the shortcomings of schools and empowers his students to start working on their real life now instead of waiting until graduation. He believes that schools and students have enormous opportunities that need to be taken advantage of and he works tirelessly to help support the students to moving toward their dreams. Thanks for listening!

Cody and I spoke about school, life, and interactions with adults. Cody has been impacted by my content and he was excited to be on the podcast. He definitely wants to run his own business and he's in the process of developing a product that he think young people would be stoked to wear.

Sarah talked with me about who meaningful adults were in her life and how schooling impacted her. She shares her concerns about the way students are treated in schools and that teachers do not often model respectful communication. Connect with Sarah @sarah.schaefer50 on Instagram

Have you ever felt that your creativity isn't or wasn't valued in school? Why is that? Is it enough to put a few paintings on the wall and say that we value creativity? What kind of message does that send to students? What can you do about it? Thanks for listening! Check out my blog for more cutting questions about the culture of schooling. www.philipmott.com

You ever wonder why we become and behave the way we do? I think it has a lot to do with our environment. And I'm not just talking about what materials we have access to, but the way we are talked to and about while we mature. Thanks for listening! Read the article here: https://www.philipmott.com/2018/08/20/your-environment-helps-create-you/

I define schooling as the coercive method by which teachers and parents employ to get students to learn things they, for one reason or another, don't want to learn. I describe seven things that adults do that tends to stop students from engaging in meaningful learning: nagging, criticism, punishments, bribes, complaining, and threatening. If you're a young person you'll likely be nodding your head in agreement throughout the whole episode. Read the article here! https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/seven-ways-schooling-can-block-your-desire-learn-philip-mott/