Podcast appearances and mentions of akilah richards

Aligned with the practice of respectful parenting, unschooling challenges conventional educational paradigms, and offers a liberating alternative that both nurtures children's autonomy and fosters meaningful intergenerational connections. In this episode Dr. Coor speaks with Akilah S. Richards, author of "Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work," about transformative approaches to education and parenting, and - the power of unschooling as a path to freedom and healing for families.Using respectful parenting tools can make space for you and your child to have a more collaborative and peaceful relationship. And yet it's extremely hard to use the tools you have when you're triggered in the present by past experiences, stressed by the daily challenges of life, or overwhelmed during a difficult parenting situation. In this episode, Dr. Nanika Coor explains how making mindfulness a regular part of your parenting can help you see your child - and yourself - with less judgment and more sensitivity. Project Parenthood is hosted by Dr. Nanika Coor. A transcript is available at Simplecast.Have a parenting question? Email Dr. Coor at parenthood@quickanddirtytips.com or leave a voicemail at 646-926-3243.Find Project Parenthood on Facebook and Twitter, or subscribe to the Quick and Dirty Tips newsletter for more tips and advice.Project Parenthood is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips.Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribehttps://www.facebook.com/QDTProjectParenthoodhttps://twitter.com/qdtparenthoodhttps://brooklynparenttherapy.com/

I really enjoyed exploring unschooling, deschooling, freedom, and liberation with Akilah Richards, host of the Fare the Free Child podcast and author of the book Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work.I reached out to Akilah after seeing her TED talk, which led me to her book, and then her podcast, and I knew I wanted to invite her to join me in conversation. A recurring theme in this podcast, and in Tilt, is doing our own inner work as parents, and I love how Akilah talks about relating our own reparenting to freedom, decolonization, and liberation.Akilah shares her personal story of going from traditional schooling to unschooling to deschooling, and how she and her husband came to consider the idea of raising free people, what that means, and how they've navigated the realities of making unconventional choices that can sometimes make other people uncomfortable. She also shares how they think about the success and what a fulfilled life looks like for her family, as well as how her work aimed at decolonizing parenting has resonated with people worldwide.About my guest:Akilah S. Richards is passionate about mindful partnerships and decolonizing parenting. She uses audio and written mediums to amplify the ways that unschooling in particular, is serving as healing grounds and liberation work for Black, non-Black Indigenous, and People of Color communities earthwide. Her celebrated unschooling podcast, Fare of the Free Child, and the numerous workshops and gatherings she has been part of, have garnered the attention of Forbes Magazine, The New York Times, Good Morning America, and most importantly, BIPOC families interested or living in more healthy, consent-based, intergenerational relationships. Her recent experiences within the intersection of privilege, parenting,and power are detailed in her latest book, Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work.You'll learn:What it means to be raising a “free child” and why it can be a threatening or uncomfortable concept for many peopleWhat “mad question asking” is and how parents can use it to get unstuckHow unschooling is tied to decolonizationWhat “deschooling” is versus “homeschooling” and “unschooling”What “confident autonomy” is and why Akilah considers that a hallmark of “success” in her childrenHow Akilah and her partner dealt with the barriers (social, cultural, and more) when they chose the unschooling path for their familyWhat a “savor complex” is and how it can transform the family experienceResources mentioned:Akilah Richard's websiteRaising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work by Akilah RichardsFare of the Free People PodcastAkilah's website SchoolishnessAkilah's coaching offeringsSavor ComplexAkilah Richard TEDx Asbury Park TalkShawna Murray BrowneSupport the showConnect with Tilt Parenting Visit Tilt Parenting Take the free 7-Day Challenge Read a chapter of Differently Wired Follow Tilt on Twitter & Instagram

Join us for an episode of self-inquiry, unlearning, and reparenting. My guest Akilah Richards is back to dive more deeply into deschooling and what it’s all about and how we can recognize it as liberation work that fuels learning, life design, and relationships. This episode was emotional for me because compulsory schooling harmed me in a variety of ways and I saw those same harms happen to my own children through the public school system. I've come to see that this system is harmful to just about anyone who experiences it because it's very nature is to standardize, grade us, and get us to conform to ways of being which are dehumanizing. De-schooling is also a massive part of the process of unbecoming- a subject I'm endlessly passionate about because it honors our humanity, and invites us into the messy and magnificent truth of being human. It's about reckoning with the systems that have dehumanized us, and unlearning the behavior that causes us to dehumanize others. It's about breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma that conditions us to give another power and agency over our minds, bodies, thoughts and actions, and reclaiming our sovereignty so that we can make informed choices and participate through consent with the world around us vs. being forced to comply with tyranny. While this episode is about de-schooling, it's also about reframing our role in parenting and so much more. I hope you love listening as much as I loved recording this interview. Highlights: How can we reframe our role as parents without the habits of control and power over our children? Most of our lived experience in standardized education has been normalized, and yet it's the cause of grave harm at many levels. How can we experience awkwardness and disruption as gifts to deepen relationships and foster trust? Why resistance is the roadmap and why we should trust it. Why “mad question asking” is a necessary part of the deschooling process. Why self-directed education offers our children more freedom to be who they are. Why schoolish ideas persist in our culture and how we can change the status quo through the unschooling movement. Why “learning loss” is schoolish and not a thing to be concerned about. Why we need more than rules, tools, and “bad adult” guilt trips How to interrupt and disrupt the impact of colonization so that we can learn to trust ourselves and our children. Why silence is such a great teacher and why we must practice sitting within the pauses as part of our deschooling journey.

There hasn't been a time when learning wasn't important to Black people, whether for enrichment or survival. Unfortunately, white supremacy has corrupted information and spread it through an anti-Black school system. Solutions exist, though, and one solution on the rise is unschooling young black people. Today's guest is a leading voice in the unschooling movement. Akilah S. Richards is a mother, author, educator, and founder of Raising Free People, a network committed to community organizing at the intersection of privilege, parenting, and power. For more information on her consciousness-building work and on raising liberated people, visit RaisingFreePeople.com. BHY is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company - hit us up at BlackHistoryYear.com and share this with your people! PushBlack exists because we saw we had to take this into our own hands. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com​. Most people do 5 or 10 bucks a month, but everything makes a difference. Thanks for supporting the work. The Black History Year production team includes Tareq Alani, Brooke Brown, Tasha Taylor, and Lilly Workneh. Our producers are Cydney Smith, Len Webb for PushBlack, and Ronald Younger, who also edits the show. Black History Year's executive producers are Mikel Elcessor for Limina House and Julian Walker for PushBlack. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

in this episode of the unschool files, meghan is speaking with veteran unschooling mom and coach, Sue Patterson. they discuss how she began, what that experience was like, from the pushback from the establishment in the 90's to examining who and what has been left behind in the unschooling movement. she shares some insight on fear, and how we've been conditioned to think and to how the help with a reluctant parent/adult in the home. Where to Find Sue- www.suepatterson.com Discount for all 20% off guides and courses to our listeners : UFDISCOUNT https://m.facebook.com › unschooli...Unschooling Mom2Mom - Home | Facebook https://instagram.com/unschoolingmom2mom?igshid=1gaoq9ywemkk3 https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@suepatt Clubhouse is a platform for live discussion via audio (apple users only at this time) - Sue hosts a Monday room to take questions and have room directed discussion For more information on Critical Unschooling, check out the paper below from past guest, Noah Romero https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343821856_Toward_a_critical_unschooling_praxis For more information about unschooling and self-directed learning from a BIPOC perspective, please check out Akilah Richards of The Raising Free People Network! She has a book, podcast, courses, and provides so much. Please pay for her work. https://raisingfreepeople.com

1.27 in this episode Meghan is speaking with Iris Chen, mother, unschooler, blogger and published author of the book Untigering. they discuss her journey to unschooling, tiger parenting and what it is, cultural overlap, and the emergent practice of self-directed learning while healing form family sounds and seeking co-liberation for all people. Where to find Iris- Untigering.com Untigering@gmail.com @untigering Podcast mentions- Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Amy Chua) https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/308361/battle-hymn-of-the-tiger-mother-by-amy-chua/ All things from Akilah Richards can be found here https://raisingfreepeople.com Alliance for Self-Directed Learning https://www.self-directed.org Lucy Aitkenread's YouTube - Life Without School https://m.youtube.com/c/LucyatLifeWithoutSchool/videos Pam Laricchia's Podcast - Exploring Unschooling https://livingjoyfully.ca/podcast-2/ Venmo Piggy Bank @iamsilenth

in this conversation with Akilah Richards, we just feel our way through 5 different phrases. episodes of this podcast are never scripted, but this one is particularly vulnerable and off the cuff. i am so grateful for the time and space shared, and hope this conversation will help folks get a sense of what Akilah means when she talks about Raising Free People via unschooling and what our responsibilities are to the people around us. Connect with me- Theunschoolfiles.com @theunschoolfiles on Instagram drop a me a coffee or buy someone a zine on Venmo @iamsilenth -Subscribe to the UNSCHOOL FILES ZINE! https://www.patreon.com/theunschoolfiles Akilah's podcast Fare of the free Child Podcast ​​https://soundcloud.com/radicalselfie/sets/fare-of-the-free-child Akilah's Website https://raisingfreepeople.com Please become a patron of Akilah's! https://www.patreon.com/akilah Akilah's writing for Everyday Feminism https://everydayfeminism.com/author/akilahr/

Annie and Candis take a closer look through the lens of Akilah Richards' definition of deschooling: "shedding the programming and habits that resulted from other people's agency over our time, body, thoughts, and actions." They discuss what it really means to stop behaving in the ways society wants you to behave in when you throw away the framework of school. Find more from Akilah through her podcast, Fare of the Free Child, and her book titled Raising Free People. 

Candis and Annie discuss the motivations to walk away from the school system and begin to work toward something new. This work begins with deschooling, the ongoing deprogramming process to shed the expectations and beliefs internalized through being part of the school system. As we set out on this experience of letting go of our schoolish ways, we share the raw and vulnerable steps we'll encounter along the way. We mention many of the wise guides who have already helped us along the way. Here are some of them along with their Instagram accounts: Dr. Rema @drrema; Akilah Richards @fareofthefreechild; Iris Chen @untigering; Maleka Diggs @eclecticlearningnetwork; Fran Liberatore @bigmothering; Agile Learning Center @alc_network.

Unschooling, self-directed learning, deschooling, and more! Annie and Candis try to define some of the lingo that is used in the conversations around unschooling and self-directed education. By having a foundation of the vernacular, they hope you can more confidently speak to and inquire about the ideas and concepts that bring self-directed learning into practice. In the episode they reference experts from the Alliance of Self-Directed Education: https://www.self-directed.org/ and other experts on unschooling including Akilah Richards who can be found at https://raisingfreepeople.com/ ; Bayo Akomolafe found at https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/ ; and Zakiyya Ismail found at https://www.growingminds.co.za/ 

Guest  Vincent Pugliesi   Vincent is the founder of the Total Life Freedom Community. Living a life of freedom is of huge importance to Vincent and his wife Elizabeth. They homeschool their three boys, and believe that having control of your time, your money, and the work you do, leads to the ultimate life freedom. While teaching others to do the same, the movement of Total Life Freedom was born.   https://totallifefreedom.com Instagram @totallifefreedom1 Intro   Hey Everyone, welcome back to the Rogue Learner podcast. I have had a little break from publishing and I'm really grateful for you all having patience while I figure out my new rhythm here in the States. I don't know if I've said it before on the show, but my husband is still in Europe and will be joining us later in the year so the time I once had to allocate to the show is reduced to very little, especially now that things are opening back up and my kids have access to so many places and clubs that were once closed due to Covid-19. I'd like to start by thanking you all for being so supportive and kind as I transition into our new normal. I am confident I can continue publishing great episodes, in fact I've spent the last week interviewing more amazing guests, but I do think the frequency of my publishing will slow at least until my husband joins us. For now, I'll commit to one great interview a month, with the hope that I can do even more than that.    Some listeners have reached out to me to ask how they can support the show and I appreciate you wanting to help out. The show does cost money to produce, but I'd like to keep the information free to anyone who needs it. Still, if you like the show, get value from it, and have the means to support it monetarily, you can now do so by clicking the “Support Rogue Learner” link either in the show notes or from my profile on Instagram. I am eternally grateful for anyone who makes a contribution. The money will go directly back into paying for the domain, hosting, podcast distribution service and Adobe Audition subscription.    Another way to support the way if you provide a service to other homeschooling families is by advertising on the Rogue Learner website or adding a paid listing to the directory. You'll find the link in the show notes or in my Instagram profiles. Thank you!    Also, as a thank you from me t o you I always have a book giveaway going on. If you leave a written review on Apple (which you can do through iTunes btw even if you don't have an iPhone) and then send me a quick email with your screen name, you could win a copy of a book related to SDE. For every 5 reviews, I'll be giving away two new books, “Raising Free People; Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work” by Akilah Richards and “Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School?” by Blake Boles. Head on over to Apple Podcasts to leave an honest written review and get a chance to win one of these books!   I'm really excited to introduce today's guest. Vincent Pugliese is an entrepreneur who began his career in a very self-directed manner. Feeling as though he had no options in his 20's and no clear direction, he took up his father's advice to take on a photography class. In his story, you'll hear how he went from completely apathetic toward learning to deeply passionate about sports photography. What I find most incredible about him is that he is now using that knowledge he acquired regarding how people learn with his own three boys. I'm so thrilled that he took the time to chat with me and I think you'll feel the same way I did by the end of our conversation: motivated and inspired! And now, here is my interview with Vincent Pugliese from Total Life Freedom.  Show Notes   Jenna begins by welcoming Vincent to the show and thanking him for talking about his homeschooling experiences on the ChooseFI podcast, because it really inspired her to think more critically about the option to do the same for her kids.    Vincent says they are currently moving from Pennsylvania to Florida and they're able to do that based on the flexibility of their jobs and homeschooling. He says the kids started out going to traditional schools, but he and his wife didn't like that they didn't get to spend much time with their kids. They believe in following kids interests and focusing on learning, problem solving and entrepreneurship vs. a curriculum.    Jenna asks what sort of business ventures his kids are into right now. Vincent says his oldest son has always loved bugs. One day when they were playing baseball, his son said he didn't want to play anymore. While he was waiting on the sidelines, he caught a snake and everyone grew really interested in the snake and his son started teaching them about the snake. Vincent remembers at this moment that his son really stood out - he was unique. Everyone else was playing baseball and wearing the same uniform. It made him interesting because he was following his passion and interests.    His son ended up turning his love for bugs into a little business where he teaches people about his tarantula and lets them hold it  and collects tips. His middle son makes balloon animals for kids. They just got hired for a kids birthday party.    Vincent says his kids are learning how to be adults and doing adult things now. He doesn't really understand why we make kids wait until they're 22  years old before we let them start acting like “adults.”   Jenna jokingly says she's in the wrong profession! Vincent follows up saying his kids are being paid $200 for doing a 2-hour birthday party. Someone told his son that he'll be able to pay for college with all those earnings or not have to go to college at all!    Jenna adds that there's so much being gained by the kids working on their business ventures, but the communication skills are definitely being sharpened. She remembers having difficulty in her youth talking with adults, mostly because of a lack of confidence. She thinks she missed out on really valuable learning opportunities by not engaging with adults.    Vincent says the boys are motivated on their own to earn more money and get more customers. Vincent stresses to his boys that it's not about them, that it's about bringing value to others. Each client should walk away feeling happy and fulfilled in some way, whether that be a child with a balloon animal or an adult overcoming their fear of tarantulas and holding one. Building a good business is all about adding value to other people's lives.    Jenna asks Vincent to tell about his journey into each of his careers. Vincent's journey was very self directed and did not follow a traditional path. Additionally, he did not feel successful in public school. Vincent is a business coach today, and he tells his mastermind classes that they have to be okay having no road map. Of course, at the beginning, there may be some critical steps that everyone will need to take but at some point you'll need to become a problem solver,  innovator, and trailblazer.  Entrepreneurs are okay with failure. They learn from it. Vincent says he was always good at this in his youth.    His father suggested, one very late night, for him to try sports photography as a career. Vincent thought, “I've got nothing to lose” so he went ahead and began taking steps toward that career. Part of his training led him back to the classroom (college) and he was the best in his class. He was the best in his class - he wondered, how can I go from worst in class to best in class? He thinks it's because he had a real passion for it - he could see himself doing that job and thriving in it.    Jenna says that it's important to note that parents generally have some concern over whether or not  their child will ever choose a career path, but it does happen for everyone at some point. There will be something that comes into an unschoolers life at some point that motivates the young person to set goals and accomplish them. Don't worry. They will figure it out.    Vincent says he has listeners of his podcast Total Life Freedom, that reach out to him at age 33 and did exactly what they were supposed to do, followed a traditional path, and are miserable in their job. They may have a beautiful house, car, kids, etc but they hate what they do and don't know how to get out of it.    Vincent says unless his kids absolutely always love what they're doing, he hopes they will evolve and change their careers. Through new endeavors, you learn new life skills, communication skills, and business skills. He and his wife's “graduation criteria” revolves around financial goals because ultimately that's what will give them the foundation to lean into a career that they're passionate about. He doesn't want them to be so far in debt with student loans and such that they find themselves stuck, as he so often sees with his clients. Financial wisdom and emotional intelligence will allow you to do anything in life.    Jenna adds that many kids in elementary and secondary school lack the time and possibly resources to dive deep into various interests and passions which robs them of self-discovery. By the time they're of age to start thinking of their careers, they simply lack the experience and self awareness needed to decide on a path. Additionally, Jenna argues that living life provides you with real learning experiences that help you to better understand what it is you like doing and exposes children to so many types of ideas, subjects, passions, etc. Schools can't offer that in the same way - it's not flexible enough to accommodate each student in that way.    Vincent adds that compartmentalizing learning is not how the real world functions. His son, as an example, is really into tanks and building small versions of them and sells them. Through that one interest, he's learned about WWII, engineering, and commerce.    Jenna asks Vincent to tell us what happened after he got started in his photography career. Vincent went on to cover the Super Bowl, World Series, NHL championships and was awarded International Sports Photographer of the Year by Pictures of the Year International in 2003. His work has been published in nearly every newspaper around the globe. He eventually moved to Indiana where he met his wife, Elizabeth and they both began working for a small newspaper there. Although he really loved his job and won many awards for his work, he didn't enjoy having his schedule dictated by an employer. He wasn't earning much money when his wife became pregnant with their first child so Vincent decided they needed to have their own business. His dad gave him some great advice once again. He told him that he had a skill that he wasn't using. He was really good at photography and could be controlling his schedule and income but instead, he told Vincent he thought he was settling out for $15/hr and benefits.    He called his wife and told her they were going to start a wedding photography business. He says the first year was awful. Within three and a half years though, they had paid off all their debt, paid off their house and quit their jobs. That's when their life of freedom started. What am I growing, what am I building next, and what am I a beginner in are three important criteria for Vinent in his life.    Jenna says there's a ton of value gained from changing careers and passions throughout our lives and the skills learned from one path will ultimately be used in some way in the future goals and projects of the future. She herself has incorporated her photography business skills and writing skills into her podcasting venture and she continues to use her education background as a foundation for each of her endeavors as well. Jenna's son loves gaming and through gaming he's tried streaming on Twitch, creating a YouTube channel, and now coding. Learning isn't linear, it's more of a meandering stop and go joy ride.    Vincent says it's not talked about enough, this concept of skill stacking. Even if things don't work out, you can pull certain skill sets from one passion to another. Failure is experience. Too many people quit instead of using what they've learned.    Jenna asks Vincent what he thinks his kids would have missed if they had been in school. He says his kids would likely be missing out on being bullied at school. He gets asked, as we all do, about socialization and what he's noticed is that kids who homeschool have no qualms hanging out with kids much older or younger than them. In public schools however, 13 year olds can seem like an idol to a 12 year old, whereas an 11 year old would look like an idiot. He remembers this being the mentality in his own school-aged years.  He doesn't see that in homeschooling. He goes on to add that kids who have similar interests can interact in homeschooling, whereas in school and within a grade level, there may not be the opportunity for that.    School has also given Vincent's family the freedom to travel. They have spent the last 10 years traveling south in the winter and exploring the Southern United States. People have often asked him “Where are the desks?” and “Where do your kids do school?” To that, he says school is everywhere. Life is school. “School” happens whenever you want to learn. When people are willig to see that, the whole world opens up.    Jenna asks Vincent what he would do if one of his boys wanted to go to school. He says they would absolutely support that, in fact they've presented it as an option to try out. Whatever they want to do, they support.    Jenna says she asks because her daughter recently asked to go back to school. Her daughter enjoys the structure and finds the curriculum motivating. She thinks there are definitely people for which school suits.    Vincent says he has ADHD and believes two of his three boys may have it too. He says he never thrived in school. He never liked structure created for him by someone else. Some kids do love direction and structure and thrive in public school though. There should be a choice for kids who don't thrive there though. Some kids end up in detention and are told they're bad kids so having the option to choose a different environment for kids to learn in is vital to them accomplishing their learning goals.    Jenna asks Vincent what the best thing about homeschooling has been for his family. He says for sure it's the relationships; spending time together. Vincent and his family invented the “Beautiful Day Rule” which means that when the skies are blue in Pittsburg, they get their essential work done and then go do whatever they want that day. Recently, he and his son took the day off and stayed in a hotel for the night. They spent the day on paddle boats, at the arcade, swimming, and talking. His son said it was “the best day ever” over and over again. That is the greatest benefit of homeschooling; the relationships.   Helpful Resources Mentioned in Today's Show   Total Life Freedom   Total Life Freedom podcast   Choose FI   Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School by Blake Boles   Raising Free People by Akilah Richards   Anything You Want by Derek Sivers   Your Music and People by Derek Sivers   Discord   Support Rogue Learner   Advertise on Rogue Learner   Leave a Review

I am so happy to share this powerful imperfectly perfect conversation with Alex Khost. He talks about Flying Squads, the project he is currently working on. Alex is a father and Youth Rights advocate. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Tipping Points, the book and magazine publisher for the Alliance for Self-Directed Education, and founder of Voice of the Children, promoting and facilitating art and activism for young people. He works at the homeschooling coop, Brooklyn Apple Academy. A must listen-to if you are interested in Youth Rights! In the podcast, Alex also mentions the work done by Akilah Richards called Raising Free People

Guest   Lucy AitkenRead   YouTube IG @lulasticblog Lulastic.co.uk https://discolearning.com   Show Notes   Topics Discussed in Today's Show:   Lucy is a mom of two, a 10 year old daughter and an 8 year old son. She is originally from London, but now lives in New Zealand. They moved there to bring out a little more of their wild. Her kids have never been to school. The moment her daughter was born, they began thinking about life without school. Her and her family took a year-long trip around Europe and one of the things they firmly decided on during that trip was that their kids were not going to attend school. Through her reading and experience in a German forest kindergarten, she was able to draw a map of how their lives could look and now they're living it.    Jenna mentions that many families seem to know right from the beginning that they want to unschool, however her progression to this lifestyle was a very gradual one. Jenna asks which book Lucy read during her travels that she picked up at a second-hand shop. Lucy said she read John Holt's book How Children Learn and Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff, which were both very influential. The Continuum Concept had a huge impact on Lucy's mindset about childhood.    Jenna reflected on her own paradigm shift and how moving away from her hometown may have  been a catalyst for her to be able to let go of influences and really dig into her own values, and essentially reinvent herself.    Lucy adds that in one traditional culture, teenagers leave their town and change their name. Sometimes you need to physically move away from your heritage, reputation, beliefs and values in order to step into the new invitation in your life. It's a grand gesture. It is important and significant and symbolically represents a whole new leaf that you're turning.    Jenna says that she thinks she wouldn't have had the courage to leap into this lifestyle had she stayed in her hometown. She remembers seeing a documentary about a ritual in Africa, in which the community members who are approaching adulthood are taken away from the village for some time and while they're away, the village builds them a house. When they return, they're presented with the house and are now seen as adult members of society. It's a really important moment in their lives.   Lucy adds, it feels so important to have these communal rituals. She says it's no wonder our industrialized, capitalist society has so many problems when our culture is devoid of these rituals. It's so obvious.    Shifting gears, Jenna asks Lucy to describe Childism. Lucy says that childism is a form of prejudice, a manifestation of ageism. It's a marginalisation of children. Jenna asks, how would it impact our society if children were respected and treated as humans? Lucy says it would be one of the most transformational things to happen to our society, because if you're raised with a sense of your own rights and dignity you will then treat others with that same respect, worth, and value. It's also really influential on home education because you can maybe be doing all of the right things in terms of learning and education, but if you don't believe that children are worthy of rights and dignity, then that will leak out and affect how children learn and the classroom culture. Jenna adds that children's rights are so fundamental to self-directed learning, and you can't really have one without the other. Lucy says you'd just be undermining the child's sense of direction and self-determination because you don't actually believe that they have everything they need within them.    There are simple things we do every day to undermine a child, Jenna asks if there are any examples Lucy can think of. Lucy says one that is really obvious is adults doing things to children; putting on clothes, picking them up, etc. Lucy says one way of respecting even an infant's autonom is by letting them know when you're going to pick them up and giving them a chance to respond, either physically or verbally. When they're toddlers, make sure they can see your face and hear your voice when engaging with them about getting their clothes on, picking them up or taking them somewhere. A good way to think about your actions is to ask yourself, “Would I like this done to me?”   Jenna mentions how comical it actually sounds when you think of another adult pulling you by the arm. It's akin to a man telling a woman to smile when they're walking down the street. Lucy says it's another one of the hierarchies we have in our society, which is that men get to tell random female strangers in the street to cheer up or to smile. Sexism sits right alongside childism.    Lucy's advocacy for children really started to unfold when she was working for the NGO sector and noticed the total blindness to the very many ways that our society is infringing on children's rights. Colleagues of hers would say these blanket statements like, “Oh, I just hate children.” Lucy realized that children really are one of the last groups of people in society where you can just come out and say, “I hate ….” “And until we recognize that and change it, all the charities in the world trying to work on human rights stuff are just peeing into the wind because this stuff has to begin on day one with our children. This has to be a generational shift that recognizes and honors children as valuable, worthy members of society. Otherwise we're not going to see those shifts towards empathy and respect that will change everything.”    Jenna states that Lucy makes such a great point. She's never considered how people view children before. Jenna points out that teenagers are marginalized most. Lucy asks, “What if we lived in a paradigm based on connection, based on the idea that our wellness is wrapped up in the wellness of other people, that really we are one throbbing being; all of humankind. We can strip away the labels.” Teenagers play an important role in challenging society. They have a fire that can ignite the change we need to see.    Jenna was thinking about how much is missed out on by keeping teens busy with things adults have decided for them. It's such a shame, and it's a missed opportunity for creativity, innovation, and contributions from this age group to our society. Lucy adds that it's no wonder that so much self-combustion happens during the teenage years if that's the only way we can honor their being. Jenna points out that by having teens in institutions all day, it strips away any opportunity for them to contribute to society in a meaningful way until they're in their 20's.    Lucy was truant a lot in her teenage years, and for a long time she thought she was just naughty. Now, she realizes how her teenage self was right in removing herself from a toxic place. Jenna shares how her son, at age 13, has such a great awareness of what he can and can't handle. He recognizes the need for rest, and is respectful of his own needs. She was very proud of him for that because it's a skill that many people never really learn. Lucy says it's so beautiful and how sad it is that he experienced physical pain from the stress of an institution. Lucy says she has shared a lot about the trauma of school. She gets a lot of comments on social media about how schools aren't that way anymore and their school is a really positive experience for their children, but Lucy points out that on the whole, it's still a system that's problematic and it really hasn't changed that much. She shares how a teacher friend of hers is expected to dole out detentions for his students who don't wear their sports socks to P.E. The missing piece is still that children are worthy of rights and dignity.    Jenna asks about the third wave of unschooling… is there one? How is unschooling changing? Lucy hopes that the audience will contribute to this conversation. Unschooling has been packaged up and named, yet it's existed since the beginning of time. Children have always learned skills that were important to their culture, raising children without punishment and without a forced curriculum. This was the first wave of unschooling. Community wellbeing was at the forefront until industrialization. The second wave of unschooling happened in the 70's and 80's and originated from John Holt's ideas about learning. Consent and autonomy were pulled out from that wave. There was a shift politically toward free markets and privatization. Neoliberalism pushed for individualism, as opposed to societal wellbeing. Lucy wonders if this influenced the unschooling movement in a way that led toward individual freedom at the cost of community wellbeing. The conversation now is centered around how freedom and equality are at work in our unschooling currently. She feels like we are possibly entering a new era that is trying to bring together the idea of autonomy and sovereignty being important, but also honoring the community and trying to create a self-determination that happens amidst community. She recommends the book, Raising Free People by Akilah Richards. Akilah Richards describes this concept in her book as compassionate autonomy. The book really sums up where we're at now and what the invitations are for unschoolers. Lucy feels like it could be a third wave of unschooling. Lucy believes that so often conflict within the unschooling community stems from families not agreeing on what to expect from children and what they can manage.   Jenna shares that for her, she has a real conflict about autonomy vs. parental responsibility and she mentions how labels (like unschooling) can sometimes make people feel excluded if they aren't abiding by all the principles of the group, and then create self-doubt on the side of the person not checking all the boxes within that label. For Jenna, it was difficult to find the balance between keeping her children safe and healthy, while still offering them autonomy. Lucy says it's probably a really common experience. Lucy asks that when Jenna peered into unschooling, was there too much child-centeredness and too much forgetting of parent's needs? Jenna says it's not just the lack of emphasis on parent's needs, but also the lack of a parental role in keeping them healthy and safe. An example is that if your child ate candy all day, it would mean that the parent is not protecting their child's health. Jenna feels like she has a responsibility to her children to keep them healthy, as she would do for herself. In the second wave of unschooling, Lucy thinks that there is a really strong sense that there is only one way of unschooling, and it requires absolute autonomy even at great cost for some families. Lucy has experienced the power of abundant thinking in her home, where you're not creating a scarcity mindset. So, for example, if you have chocolate in all of the drawers in your home, the kids don't want to eat chocolate all day because there are much yummier things that their bodies desire, but in some homes that would be a catastrophe. But that doesn't mean that those families aren't unschooling and doesn't mean that they shouldn't get to experience the support and inspiration that can come when you are within an unschooling movement. Lucy says it pains her to know that there are people out there who weren't able to feel the cultural identity, love and respect that can be found within unschooling communities because they didn't feel worthy of the label because they weren't unschooling in the way that those online groups, forums and blogs seem to think is the only way to unschool.   Jenna describes an example from an interview she did with a grown unschooler where the mother made the decision to take away a specific video game from her brother because it was causing stress in the home and she didn't like the aggression it brought about in her son. Lucy says, who are we to judge if it brought about more peace and deepened the connection and the honesty within the home, that is incredible. Jenna says that she wants to keep relationships at the forefront of her mind during the course of her unschooling journey. That may mean eliminating something from our home or altering it, but that's sort of irrelevant. Lucy adds that if the foundation of your home is based on children's rights, you won't have a situation in which the adult is making authoritarian decisions because you'll be leaning into each conflict, analyze your reaction and feelings, you'll have honest and transparent dialog back and forth with your kids, and together you'll muddle through it. Lucy would like to see in the third wave of unschooling that unschooling families embrace children's rights that each family can be absolutely trusted to embody the principles of unschooling as best they can with the most shared power and respect of their children - a lot more trust and a lot less judgement.   An example Jenna shares is how her son articulated a goal of him not swearing while playing video games. After weeks of discussion back and forth about how to address this problem in their home, her son is making an effort to stop swearing because it affects everyone in the home. This is a good example of how community wellbeing is an essential part of unschooling life. She adds that conflict and friction are part of their home. She adds that everyone may handle the same situation differently and that's okay if it feels like it's working for them. One thing Jenna feels she has learned in the last seven years of traveling and living in different cultures from her own is that the human experience is unique. Every person has their own way of experiencing the world and a lot can be learned from each other because of it. Shaming people does not bring about change or evolution of any kind.    Lucy shares how conflict and friction are not problems. It does not mean that it is all going wrong. Lucy focused on joy above everything at the beginning of her unschooling journey. And although she is still committed to joy, she embraces conflict and sees conflict and tension as an invitation to get more intimate with each other. Jenna feels like sometimes joy comes as a result of conflict. Lucy shares a quote from Walt Whitman, “We contain multitudes,” meaning we're conflictual beings and we contain peace, joy, grief, frustration and peace all at the same time, as do our homes and children. There is a surrender that comes from knowing it's all part of us, existing simultaneously.    Jenna asks, “what piece of advice can you leave listeners with who are unschooling or beginning their journey but are dealing with fear in some capacity?”   Lucy says that fear is completely and utterly NORMAL. We are a school-fixated culture. School is the provider of almost all social relationships. So to do something outside of it, is an incredibly radical decision which takes a huge amount of courage. “Unschooling wobbles” as Lucy refers to them as, are completely normal.  A few techniques to deal with our fear is through affirmations, breathing, and self-kindness practices. Befriending fear is important too. Get curious about it. Give fear the respect it's asking from you. Tap into support systems and watch inspiring content on YouTube. Fear is like conflict, if we get curious about it, it's an incredible opportunity for self-learning and healing. There are so many layers to peel back and wounds that can be healed from getting to know it.    Resources Mentioned in Today's Show Leave a Voicemail How Children Learn by John Holt Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff Raising Free People by Akilah Richards Lucy's YouTube Channel - Life Without School Lucy's Unschooling Course - Disco Learning    Ways to Connect Email me: contact.roguelearner@gmail.com Facebook  Instagram Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rogue-learner/id1543224038 Google Play: https://podcasts.google.com/search/rogue%20learner Spotify: https://roguelearner.libsyn.com/spotify YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdCocbWsxxAMSbUObiCQXPg Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/rogue-learner

Enjoy this inspiring interview with Akilah S. Richards, who is passionate about mindful partnerships and conscious parenting. She started Raising Free People Network, a digital multimedia platform for education, deep listening, and emergent collaborations within the intersections of privilege, parenting, and power. Her unschooling podcast is called Fare of the Free Child, and her latest book, Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work is available through PM Press, many local bookstores, and on Amazon. The video: https://youtu.be/Mh-ZXov9eNA (https://youtu.be/Mh-ZXov9eNA) Akilah's links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fareofthefreechild/ (https://www.instagram.com/fareofthefreechild/) Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fare-of-the-free-child/id1138611256 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fare-of-the-free-child/id1138611256) Courses: https://www.rfpunschool.com/ (https://www.rfpunschool.com)

Akilah Richards shares several great resources that we’ve listed below...here are links for content and references mentioned in the show:Michelle talks with Akilah Richards of Raising Free People and the Fare of the Free Child podcast, based in Lawrenceville, Georgia...part of the self-directed education movement!Akilah is the author of ten books including her most recent,Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work ...and she hosts the Fare of the Free Child If you become a fan and want to support her work, check out this fresh link and her Patreon.References then Definitions: Unschooling: “... a child-trusting, anti-oppression, liberatory, love-centered approach to parenting and care giving. It also is about creating and expanding communities of confident, capable people who understand how they learn best and how to work collaboratively to learn and solve things. Because it really is, before you talk about learning, it's about trust, it's about looking at what liberation means intergenerationally, which includes learning, but not only that. And it's about love. What does it mean if love is not just about my intention, but about something that's actually surrounded by this ecology of accountability where I'm actually listening to the people who I'm loving on and what they're saying and what they need, and then my love in action is shaped by that. All of those things are really what I understand unschooling to be.” Deschooling: ”.....shedding the programming and habits that resulted from other people's agency over your time, body, thoughts or actions. It's also ... Yes. It's also about designing and practicing beliefs that align with your desire to thrive, be happy and succeed. And those are the opposite of what has happened and continues to happen, because it's happening still, colonization.” Student hood vs Personhood: “Much of what we do is to think about what would it mean if I wasn't thinking about my child just from the perspective of student?.....So, when you start to do that work on your own self, in part by not focusing so much on your child's studenthood, then you start to make the connection between the actual human, the child human, and some of the things that they're advocating for or the things they're pushing back against. You just start to really humanize your relationship intergenerationally in a way that makes it so that you can partner with a young person around their learning journey, which may or may not include school. It still might include it, but it brings in other things that are usually not a part of school, like consent and agency, confident autonomy, the nuances of what it means to collaborate in an environment that tells you that if you help somebody, you're going to get in trouble and they're going to get in trouble. Which is the most anti-humane thing ever.”“And what we're talking about now is moving away from young people needing to perform studenthood and their right to be violated as humans, and instead looking at a way that integrates the same stuff we talk about as adults when we're in our 30s and 40s and 50s trying to get to who am I? What are my boundaries? How do I show up in the world in a way that is both affirming for me and welcoming for the sort of energies that I want to be part of? What happens when I'm super uncomfortable with someone or I don't understand or don't like, yet we have a common goal that we need to work through? These are real life situations that we do not get practice with in school.” Schoolishness: “The ways that we together are so colonized. We want a leader, we want somebody needs to be right, one person's talking, the other people are listening. We do a lot of inhumane things that have become so normalized. And they didn't just appear in adulthood, they didn't just happen when you got that job with that one person. These are things that happen throughout our schooled lives. I call these things schoolishness. Not because they are rooted in school, but oftentimes school is where they are perpetuated.” Ecology of accountability:  “...we find that in the self-directed spaces that's often one of the things that's missing. It's like your intentions are there and then you have some resources and you see a need the way that you define it, so you go do something. Okay, but you need to be involved. So, we talked about this a little bit at the top of our conversation. Whoever it is that you feel like you want to impact, how can you get into community with them? Right now. How can you get in community with them?”  Here is Akilah Richards’ Ted TalkLane Santa Cruz https://www.tucward1.com/aboutDeveloping the Disrupters Ears https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/learningtolistenCrystal Bird farmer https://crystalbyrdfarmer.com/   Free joy experience https://www.thefreejoyexperience.com/Mighty Networks https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/  Chemay Morales James https://www.linkedin.com/in/chemay-morales-james-5707764a/Thea Monyee https://www.theamonyee.com/Shawna Murray-Brown https://www.shawnamurraybrowne.com/Gratitude to Trick Candles for our theme song, called “I’m Gold"The thing about this podcast is that it is self-funded! So if you love it, consider joining us on Patreon, and passing along to your friends and colleagues. Of course, it is super helpful to us too, when you subscribe on your fav pod player, and rate us! Write us any time at hello@theethicalrainmaker.com or visit us at theethicalrainmaker.com

When parents first hear about interest-led learning (also known as self-directed education), they may wonder: why on earth would we do that? And how would my child learn without anyone teaching them? Many parents start down this path with only an inkling of where it may end up taking them and I think this is true of our guest, Akilah Richards. Akilah grew up in a typical Jamaican family where children were not allowed to have an opinion about anything - even their own bodies and feelings. In her book Raising Free People, she writes that: "Respect, the way [Jamaican parents] define it, is non-negotiable, and the spectrum of things a child can do to disrespect an adult, especially a parent, is miles wide and deep. Reverence for adults, not just respect, is expected, normalized, and deeply ingrained. Somebody else's mama could slap you for not showing reverence to any adult.  Physical punishment for the wrong displays of emotion, even silent ones like frowns or subtle ones like deep sighs, were commonplace, expected, celebrated as one of the reasons children "turned out right." Not only did you, as a child, dismiss any attitudes or anything adults might perceive as rudeness, your general countenance should reflect a constant respect - no space at all for showing actual emotion, if that emotion was contrary to what was reverent and pleasant for the adults in your life - again, especially your parents." While we may not have grown up with parents who were as overtly strict as this, chances are our parents and teachers used more subtle ways of keeping us in line with behavior management charts, grades (and praise for grades) and the withdrawal of approval if we were to express 'negative' emotions like frustration or anger. And of course this is linked to learning because compulsory schooling does not allow space for our children to be respected as individuals. There may be dedicated, talented teachers within that system that respect our children and who are doing the very best they can to provide support, but they too are working within a system that does not respect them. So how could we use interest-led learning/self-directed education to support our child's intrinsic love of learning - as well as our relationship with them? This is the central idea that we discuss in this episode. It's a deep, enriching conversation that cuts to the heart of the relationship we want to have with our children, and I hope you enjoy it.   Resources discussed during the conversation: https://www.eclecticlearningnetwork.com/ (Maleka Diggs' Eclectic Learning Network) https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/learningtolisten (Developing a Disruptor's Ear, by Akilah Richards and Maleka Diggs) https://network-3043137.mn.co/ (Toward Radical Social Change (TRUE) community) https://raisingfreepeople.com/ (Akilah's website, Raising Free People) https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1145 (Akilah's book, Raising Free People)

What messages does our kids' education send? What are the lived results—does it keep their spark of curiosity alive? Like many of us, especially this year, you may be totally frustrated with your kid’s education system. In this episode, I talk to Akilah Richards about her story of disenchantment and the perhaps-not-so-radical step of moving to self-directed learning. If you enjoyed this episode, and it inspired you in some way, I’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag me @mindfulmamamentor. Have you left a review yet? All you have to do is go to  Apple Podcasts or  Stitcher (or wherever you listen), and thanks for your support of the show! Takeaways: Examining the beliefs we take for granted liberates us from harmful patterns. Conventional education can be about being told what to do and enforcing that. There is no arrival point. Unlearning is the process. Akilah S. Richards hosts Fare of the Free Child, a lifestyle and parenting podcast about the connection between liberation, learning, and parenting, particularly among BIPOC communities. Her voice and work have been featured on NPR, NBC TV, Good Morning America’s blog, and in Essence and Real Simple. She is a TEDx Speaker, and author of Raising Free People. Get Hunter's book, Raising Good Humans now! Click here to order and get book bonuses! ABOUT HUNTER CLARKE-FIELDS: Hunter Clarke-Fields is a mindful mama mentor. She coaches smart, thoughtful parents on how to create calm and cooperation in their daily lives. Hunter has over 20 years of experience in mindfulness practices. She has taught thousands worldwide. Be a part of the tribe—we’re over 25 thousand strong! Download the audio training, Mindfulness For Moms (The Superpower You Need) for free! It's at mindfulmomguide.com. Find more podcasts, blog posts, free resources, and how to work with Hunter at MindfulMamaMentor.com.   Be sure to check out these deals from this week’s sponsors: Get 50% off your first month plus FREE shipping on ANY crate line with code HUNTER at kiwico.com. Get 25% off your entire order for a limited time with promo code HUNTER at braddockusa.com/. 25% off your entire order when you go to sakara.com and enter code HUNTEREARLYACCESS at checkout.

If you're wondering how exactly unschooling and sustainable real estate go together, don't worry because you're totally going to get it after listening in on my chat with Dr. Sundiata Soon-Jahta. Dr. Sundiata and I are members of the same Conscious Parenting group on Facebook and when I came across his website, I knew I had to have him on. He wears many hats, but in today's episode, we're chatting mainly about unschooling (how it works, how it differs from traditional homeschool) and, of course, a life of sustainability as it relates to selling real estate. For example, did you know that you can participate in carbon offset programs to help balance your carbon footprint? Me either! Talk about putting your money where you mouth is! Intrigued? So was I! Take a listen, and, as always be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a rating/ comment below! Unschooling Resources More on Sustainable Real Estate in Atlanta, GA (work with Dr. Sundiata) More on Dr. Sundiata's Lunch & Learn (No More Arguments: How To Resolve Conflict In A Peaceful Way) CONSCIOUS PARENTING RESOURCES The Conscious Parent, Dr. Shefali Tsabari More on Akilah Richards (follow #RaisingFreePeople on Instagram!) **************************************************************** More FREE Resources for unschooling & authentic dialogue HERE & HERE Connect With Dr. Sundiata Soon-Jahta: Instagram CONNECT WITH ME Why I Started Tribe Culture Life Check Out My Latest All Day Britney Blog Post Come Say HI Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube

This week we’re joined by the incredible Akilah Richards, who is in the vanguard of the deschooling and unschooling movements. Our understanding of education has been turned upside down during this time of pandemic and revolution. Traditional education is becoming an unviable option for many families. So what is deschooling, and how can it help liberate our children? Akilah shows us the way, and shares how she started on her journey to unschool her children. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Episode 17: Unschooling Series - Stillness in Our Sovereign with Akilah Richards Part 1 of our Unschooling Series: Our spectrum, our EA, our sovereign Our capacities, our community Our learning, our healing, our journey Our newness, fears, freedom Our creations, our resources, our healed honua La Hoihoi Ea's Free + Public EAducation FaceBook Video - Parents As Educators Raising Free People Fare of the Free Child Podcast Akilah's Patreon Support the Ku I Ke Aloha podcast + community platform: patreon.com/kuikealoha, learn more at kuikealoha.com

Akilah Richards is an unschooling mother of two, Tedx speaker and host of the widely celebrated podcast, Fare of the Free Child which explores the intersections of parenting, personal leadership, and tools for liberation-centered community. She is the author of the forthcoming book, ‘Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work’ due to be published later this year. This conversation was recorded before Corona and the onset of global homeschooling was even a thing! It is so poignant how much more ready for this conversation so many of us are now. If you have or one day will have a school-aged child, are thinking about choices in terms of education, and especially if your child is black or brown, you need to listen to this conversation now! Follow me on instagram @soulmamacoach Visit www.soulmamajourney.com/podcast for full show notes.

Today we hear from two parents whose partners are not taking on as much of the learning around kids’ development + brains, respectful parenting and positive discipline solutions as they are themselves. They struggle, like so many of us, to find a way to bring their partners and other caregivers into the work of growing up alongside their kids as well as finding the words to articulate those differences. We explore ways to lean in to these caregiver clashes (as well as conflicts with our children) so we can all be on the same page - open, honest, vulnerable and growing - in these difficult times! We laugh, we cry, we lean in… join us! Today’s episode shoutout is Akilah Richards, host of the Fare of the Free Child podcast -- a lifestyle and parenting podcast about the connection between liberation, learning, and parenting-- particularly among BIPOC communities. Parents, educators, unschoolers and entrepreneurs tune in weekly to connect about unschooling, deschooling, conscious parenting, and self-directedness. Discussions center emotional wellness, learning, parenting, self-care, and self-love. Her highly-anticipated book, Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work (from PM Press), will be released this fall. Visit today’s show notes to learn more about Fare of the Free Child Podcast, visit www.raisingfreepeople.com to pre-order Akilah’s upcoming book, and find Alikah on instagram @fareofthefreechild. Relevant Links: - Upbringing’s Freedoms Model - Upbringing’s RESIST Approach - Upbringing’s Empowerments - The Upbringing Shop - The Upbringing Resources Page - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel show - Alex Borstein as Susie Myerson the Mrs. Maisel clips that brought us joy - The Upbringing Coaching page - Amber Okamura, Upbringing’s Artist - Mary Schroeder, Upbringing’s Letterer - Alex Olavarria, our producer, conductor, editor + husband/brother in law Visit our website, www.upbringing.co to learn more about us and sign up for our newsletter! We want to hear your thoughts. We care deeply about what you think and how you’re doin’, so get in touch -- we’re better together. Email us: info@upbringing.co Follow Upbringing on Instagram: @up_bringing Join us to explore topics such as: parenting, motherhood, discipline, resistance, RIE parenting, feminist parenting, toddlers, tantrums, potty training, mindful parenting, conscious parenting, evidence-based parenting, positive parenting, respectful parenting, simplicity parenting and positive discipline.

Today we share a pre-existing episode of one of our favorite podcasts: Fare of The Free Child: “Raider as Ritual” Episode 172, posted originally May 27, 2020! Fare of the Free Child is a lifestyle and parenting podcast about the connection between liberation, learning, and parenting-- particularly among BIPOC communities. In this episode, Akilah speaks with LA-based mother, activist, and entrepreneur Melinda Alexander. They talk about the questions that drive them in the direction of commiting to raising free people and how deschooling and unlearning show up in that experience. In her own experience as a former school teacher, Melinda shares some insights on how a scoolish structure can limit the children in certain contexts. They conclude that partnership and listening are what facilitate an emergent structure. The child is the curriculum and the parents are the facilitators, both are students and teachers! Parents, educators, unschoolers and entrepreneurs tune in weekly to FOTFC to connect about unschooling, deschooling, conscious parenting, and self-directedness. We imagine that Fare of the Free Child will resonate as much as it educates, and we hope that featuring Akilah’s work here will also encourage you to expand and diversify your own reading and podcast queues around parenting and motherhood, sharing her work and others you follow with your communities. We’re excited to chat with host Akilah Richards in an upcoming podcast season when we resume our conversations with artists, activists, writers and beyond. In the meantime, our goal today is to center Akilah's brilliant work and encourage you to follow, listen, learn and support her podcast and upcoming book: Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work. Relevant Links WEBSITE- www.raisingfreepeople.com INSTAGRAM- @fareofthefreechild MELINDA ALEXANDER ON INSTAGRAM @mumumansion PRE-ORDER RAISING FREE PEOPLE- www.pmpress.org UNSCHOOL COURSES- www.rfpunschool.com PATREON- www.patreon.com/akilah TEDX TALK- www.raisingfreepeople.com/speaking Fare of the Free Child’s Shownotes Welcome to the fourth Deschooling Release Party (DRP) session, a celebration of our commitment to unlearning oppression in our relationships with children and Self. Volume I was about self-care and this one (Volume II) is about pivoting from fear and panic over into what we’re being guided to do. Melinda Alexander will be joining us to talk about the role in ritual in her mothering. More recently, she and her son Raider, started transitioning from schoolishness to unschooling. “If you travel down a long ass road and find the intersection— of art, feminism, fashion, Buddhism, social justice and motherhood— you’ll find me standing there in a MuMu, having a yard sale, raising money for Black Lives Matter.” – Melinda Alexander Melinda is an LA-based mother, activist, and entrepreneur. Influenced by her parents work as longtime anti-racist, civil rights organizers, both art and social justice kept at her center. After having her baby in a tumultuous transition/divorce, her life changed. The work she does now, which she calls Women’s Work, helps other women find their voice as part of a liberation and unlearning process, “Getting Free”. Melinda is raising Raider, her Black son in an anti-Black power structure, with a feminist, social justice-oriented focus. WHAT WE DISCUSS Akilah and Melinda talk about the questions that are driving us in the direction of commiting to raising free people and how deschooling and unlearning show up in that experience. Raider was depressed and did not get used to the school structure. Melinda saw this and advocated for her son by emailing the teachers, it ultimately ended up in them transitioning to unschooling. In her own experience as a former school teacher, Melinda shares some insights on how a scoolish structure can limit the children in certain contexts. Intrinsic value is not possible in a school setting, unless you are completely self-directed. Based on the pursuit of validation (did I do well?), the children have never been given a choice and always have been told what to do, and how to do it. By the time they finish school, they don’t know anything about themselves. They conclude that partnership and listening are what facilitate an emergent structure. The child is the curriculum and the parents are the facilitators, both are students and teachers. Thank you so much for your feedback on episode 170, we are always happy to hear from all of you! We were honoring mothering in its various forms and also launching our family of podcasts.LIBERATION WALK In order to continue through this journey of healing and self awareness process we invite you to subscribe to all five podcasts on Raising Free People Network, our liberation work platform. Be sure to join our Facebook group. Head over to Melinda’s website and instagram for more musings on love and liberation. Pre-order Akilah’s book, Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work! Organizations like Metro Atlanta Mutual Aid Fund are organizing collective help for Atlanta’s BIPOC families affected by COVID-19 – Please donate. Support the show at patreon.com/akilah

In today's episode we are making a pause from our Deschooling Release Party Vol. 2. Akilah addresses anti-blackness and its consequences. These disruptive times are making us more aware and reflective, and we have so many reminders and invitations to be more present.WHAT WE DISCUSSIn the summer of 2016 Akilah was starting Fare Of The Free Child, a podcast with the purpose of amplifying the underrepresented voices and unique concerns of Black people and other people of color, looking for viable alternatives to oppressive systems, ways to practice more self-directed ways. This was also a result of the communications that were happening when Philando Castile and Alton Sterling were lynched by the police.Akilah shares her story about the first direct physical encounter with a violent police officer in her early teen years. This shows as a continuous pattern, Philando and Alton back in 2016, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020, history repeats itself. Akilah talks about how this gets her tired.It’s in the collective, in the stories of the unheard, of the ancestral knowledge, that we can hold on and speak out, inspire change and demand that shit, too. Live into it despite attempts to dehumanize and colonize.Mad Question-Askin’What are some ways that you are being supported right now?Where are some spaces or relationships that you are being supportive right now?Akilah shares some episodes that she believes can be supportive right now.LIBERATION WALKOrganizations like Metro Atlanta Mutual Aid Fund are organizing collective help for Atlanta’s BIPOC families affected by COVID-19 – Please donate.Here's Maleka, Melissa and Bria’s Deschooling Group.Deschooling: It’s A Thing!, an Eclectic Learning Network project, a global, monthly, virtual meetup for caregivers who are committed to explore ways to shift their parenting practices.Check out Akilah’s article, Fear of the Free Black Child – Alternatives to Fear-Based Parenting Amid Police Violence.Join our Facebook group.Pre-order Akilah’s book.In our Black and in broader BIPOC communities, self-care, community care, mental health care—the need and means to prioritizing these—are encouragingly increasing in conversation. Maybe you, yourself, have been thinking about what’s interfering with your happiness or preventing you from achieving your goals. BIPOC people are so interested in healing, that we are discerning the ways that therapy and mental health support needs decolonization so that it isn’t harmful and IS in fact effective for us. In Akilah’s search for that, she has found that Betterhelp has been a great resource for her mental health. She was able to center her preferences and only choose from mental health professionals who, at base, wouldn’t seem to be in conflict or out of context for my particular beliefs and preferences. There is a broad range of expertise in the Betterhelp Counselor Network. Explore for yourself, and use this link Betterhelp.com because Fare of the Free Child Podcast subscribers have 10% off in their first month. #sponsored #verifiedSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/akilah)

Message from Akilah“I felt compelled to bring the sounds of my current city into this episode. I literally missed my deadline to submit the raw audio, because Spirit said Don’t record that intro in the corner of your closet, Sis. Instead, open your window, let the city sound off while you try to speak to some of what you’re feeling. I obeyed. And later that evening, the voices and emotions of the people of Atlanta sounded off too, in the form of peaceful protest. I was able to see some of it from our apartment, and I watched with Kris, Marley, and Sage, swaying in between a stream of emotions ranging from anger to exhaustion. I didn’t know that the audio I was called to document, to hold, would be the calm before yet another storm here in the American South. Peaceful protests were interrupted by police; humans raged; the government retaliated; helicopters and curfews circled the city; more rage, more fear, more resistance.Anti-Black racism and the myth of white supremacy are present and prevalent now, as has always been the case in this country. And while some shit stays the same--violent, horrific, hateful--some things are changing, too. Where are you finding positive change around you? Seek it out, amplify it, fixate if you need to. Do what you can to remind yourself that storms come and go, but we have, and will always, find ways to weather them, and eventually to thrive despite them. I believe that. I believe in Black people. I believe that we can organize and plan and divest and dismantle and learn and lead and listen and love our way to liberation.” #blacklivesmatterIn this fifth deschooling release party session we talk with Danii Oliver, mother of two children, unschooler and owner of the Natural Beverage Brands: Island to Island Brewery, House of Juice and Brooklyn Jun Brew. Until now we had been focusing on the pivot and what is deschooling causing to pivot away from. This time Danii tells us about how she gave it a different approach, she realized that for her, pivoting wasn’t liberation, she decided to do something else instead.Akilah talks about the importance of communal spaces and shares Deschooling: It’s A Thing!, an Eclectic Learning Network project, a global, monthly, virtual meetup for caregivers who are committed to explore ways to shift their parenting practices. This was made in joint effort with the Alliance for Self-Directed Education.Community bonds us and makes us aware of the importance to pause and nurture ourselves. Akilah shares her experience joining in one of the community sessions with Nikolai and Takiema from Raising Readers, they give us great resources on Self-Directed Education and self care.Akilah shares Betterhelp.com/fareofthefreechild as a resource for mental health. FOFC subscribers have 10% off in their first month.Here's Danii on episode 149, Self-Reclamation and Self-Directed Education.Here's Danii’s Instagram.Pre-order Akilah’s book.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/akilah)

Homeschooling is not all about your kids, at least it wasn't for this Black mama. After hearing Akilah Richards speak at a self-directed learning seminar, I was forced to confront the ideas that had been popping up in my head around unschooling and living a freer life. Akilah is a pioneer in the self-directed learning space and graced us with her words and wisdom during this episode of The Brown Mama Blueprint Podcast. Find out more about her, her dope podcast and the movement she's spearheading at raisingfreepeople.com. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/brownmamas/support

The Unschooling Movement might seem new but it is the oldest kind of learning, says Akilah Richards of Fare of the Free Child podcast; one that recognizes learning differences in children and encourages curiosity, empathy, and independence. Whereas traditional school models can rely on conformity, competitiveness, and one-size-fits-all curricula, Unschooling strives to create nurturing spaces where students can be themselves, work in community, and collaborate to pursue the information they need because of their genuine interest. During this pandemic time when kids are trying to navigate remote learning and so many parents are worried about their children falling behind and growing disenchanted with schoolwork, Akilah joins Ronit to talk about what Unschooling looks like, how she and her family have made it work, and how this unconventional model fosters compassion, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning in children.  Connect with Akilah:WebsiteInstagramAkilah’s Resources Connect With Ronit:For more about this episode click here!InstagramFacebook

We’re interrupting our Deschooling Release Party flow to focus on the energy of Mother’s Day. In this episode, Akilah and Aja will talk about the four mothers whose new are coming to join Fare of the Free Child on Raising Free People Network: Val Sinclair, Katrina Monique, Lou Hollis, and Aja herself.Aja chats with us about her relationship with motherhood and how it can impact our leadership and relationships. Her podcast, She Said, We Shed is a journey of discovery throughout the dynamics of what mothering can mean, and how types of mothering vary drastically, including the reality of Black Mama Trauma. We also introduce Plant It Up, a podcast where Val, Akilah’s mom, shares how the practices and dynamics of taking care of plants can be related to our own ways of interacting and connecting with the people around us. These stories are related to self-care and liberation work, a set of topics that lead us toward better understandings of human relationships. One of the other mamas is Katrina, whose podcast, How She Got Free, is inspired by a book that she and Akilah wrote together. Her podcast is designed to show us the benefits of sometimes speaking out from wounded spaces, it can be part of how we generate healing for ourselves and invite others to acknowledge and name their own healing needs too.How to be empowered when you don’t feel like yourself, to make a pause in your life and manage it after an altering shift? With “Grief, Growth, and Goals” the fifth podcast on the Raising Free People Network, Lou shares her experience after making massive changes in her life, the process of healing through self talk and embracing her vulnerability. Liberation and deschooling are inextricably linked, as the result of a joint work, based on experiences that had shaped ourselves and others in order to contribute on a healing and self awareness process and to continue on this journey we invite you to subscribe to all five podcasts on Raising Free People Network.LIBERATION WALKListen to Aja’s Podcast She Said, We Shed and subscribe to her email list at shesaidweshed.Join Katrina’s community, How She Got Free.Here you can preorder my new book Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work.Some insights from Aja on previous episodes, Healing Black Mama Trauma, The Practice of Reparenting Ourselves, Deschooling Intergenerational Trauma as Daughter & as Mother.Organizations like Metro Atlanta Mutual Aid Fund are organizing collective help for Atlanta’s BIPOC families affected by COVID-19 – Please donate.Support the show at patreon.com/akilahJoin our Facebook group Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/akilah)

Yael joins us as we discuss our reaction to an article where a Good Morning America writer wrote about their experience with unschooling. Akilah Richards was cited in the article. Here is her reaction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egK34Dv6cEc&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1nN-rMrUYH5wa7BlGTWupoiPZa-cZgshE33L_18w66Nh7vxoGsPTFzWZA Direct email for podcast questions: qishablog@gmail.com About Shaniese and Takisha: Shaniese (She/Hers) - manages Unconventionally Brown blog, and the NJ Homeschoolers of Color group Takisha  (She/Hers) - manages Families for Equity Follow Us on Social Media Instagram: Homeschoolingbipoc Instagram: Fam4Equity Facebook: Unconventionally Brown Facebook: Families for Equity

#DearBlackPeople Birthing in a supportive chosen environment should not be othered or a privilege.  It should valued as the norm.  Whether we give birth or not we should all be connected to the experience.  We should all be fighting for Black birth persons to be empowered to articulate and unapologetically create the birth experience we want long before a positive pregnancy test.  Black maternal health does not begin with pregnant Black people.  It begins with changing our minds. It begins by giving voice and value to bodies from the moment they enter the world.  So if the moment arrives to usher a soul Earth side as our guest Dr. Sayida Peprah says “thriving is already instilled as a right not a privilege” and joy is the baseline. Now let’s get free yall and jump into Episode 30 of Dem Black Mamas! Invest In Us! Don't just listen, subscribe Share with at least one person Follow us on any social media platform @demblackmamaspodcast Engage through social media comments, DM us or email with questions demblackmamas@gmail.com Join our email list Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/demblackmamas Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/demblackmamaspodcast One Time Donation: https://www.paypal.me/demblackmamas SHOW LINE UP Church Announcements/Prayer Requests:  Prayer Request:  We all want Akilah Richards of Fare of the Free Child to homeschool our kids through zoom People giving birth during COVID-19, Birth workers, & everyone who has is suffering from, caring for someone, and/or lost someone from COVID-19 Announcements: Crystal talks launching the new #DemBlackMamas series #MeditationsByMamas and being a guest on Cozy Womb Podcast Nekisha talks working with the Facebook group Sewing to Save to provide mask for healthcare workers; Live Q&A about lactation & support for lactation counselors, & the FB group The Midnight Milk Club Thea talks working with GoDaddy to help small business during #COVID19 through #OpenWeStand, Black Girls Rock Quarantine Parties, and The Wellness Therapist work to get us through the pandemic. Mac & Cheese: Dr. Sayida Peprah, Psychologist/Doula/#BlackMaternalMentalHealth advocate  Founder of: Diversity Uplifts & Front Line Doulas Follow & Support Dr. Peprah: Facebook | IG | Twitter   Follow & Support Frontlines Doulas: IG | Facebook | Twitter  Black Mama Say: It’s Gone Be a Problem SUPPORT OUR SISTER PODS: Shaping The Shift  IG | Facebook  Intercultured Podcast IG INFORMATION & INSPIRATION Looking for some Black Mama Love, support and connection?  Join the Facebook group Black Moms Connection Are you a Women of Color interested in starting a podcast?  For information and inspiration join the Women of Color Podcasters Facebook Group  

This episode was supposed to be the first of the Deschooling Release Party, Volume II. However, today’s episode features Marley and Sage, in response to an article from Good Morning America, and how their unschooling coverage got it all wrong.Earlier this month, the ABC Television produced a show and published a blog post about unschooling titled “I tried unschooling and here’s what happened.” I am cited in that article, and talked with the person that wrote this; I just didn’t know that it was for her to try out unschooling. In short, the article was problematic, so I wanted to address it in some kind of way, especially during this time at home with so many options for parents to put unschooling among their activities and as an opportunity for connection and growth.The problem with that article wasn’t about showing her first experience or describe what she learned, it was about framing it, and put it in as the concept of what unschooling is, ignoring the nuances and processes that lead someone to unschool and the level of compromise and dedication that Self Directed Education has. It wasn't taking into account several variables, the fact that it’s a self directed way of educational process guided upon the children’s natural interest, trust and some levels of access that are in their environment, the relationship that is forged with the people and life itself.Unschooling can be described as a partnership that will offer ideas that the child can accept or refuse, it’s about a dialectical process. The questions that might pop up are placed from an empowered space where the unschooler will offer ways in support of that, as we cannot frame people neither their learning process, it’s a constant resignification.Expertise is developed over time, observe, listen and ask.The second part of the episode is the audio from a video response I did to the GMA article, you can watch it here.Join our Facebook group for people committed to raising free people. LIBERATION WALKShare the response video about unschooling on your social media pages.Organizations like Metro Atlanta Mutual Aid Fund are organizing collective help for Atlanta’s BIPOC families affected by COVID-19 - Please donate. Support the show at patreon.com/akilahSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/akilah)

This week, we continue with the series, Parenting Decentering Whiteness. We are talking about what it means to raise free people with Akilah Richards. And, returning as my co-host is Leslie Arreola Hillenbrand of Latinx Parenting.    Akilah Richards is a writer, unschooling organizer, and host of the Raising Free People podcast. In this episode, she shares why she decided to embark on the unschooling journey, what it means to trust our children, and how our children deserve to always be themselves. We have so much to learn from Akilah and her community. I'm honored to have her as our guest!   Show Highlights: How to strike a balance when children are all of a sudden put into a situation where they are no longer going to school.  Thoughts on how to become a better listener to our children What it means to trust our children truly and what it looks like in the context of parenting We don't need to be the resource. Instead, be good at listening and asking the questions. Our parents didn't mean respect. They meant obedience. It's easy to see how some of us are continuing those cycles of oppression. Akilah's shares her experience as a person and family of color in the unschooling space. We have a brief discussion on whitewashing and how it is in all kinds of forms because whether it's in your home or not when you step out into a classroom, you are also subjected to that in a different format, even when it's with amazing teachers. The importance of being very deliberate, intentional, and consistent about questioning the narrative and whiteness status quo Links (affiliates included): Akilah Richards’s website: https://www.raisingfreepeople.com Parenting Forward Conference - https://www.parentingforwardconference.com Join us at the Parenting Forward Patreon Team -https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt Parenting Forward, the Book - https://amzn.to/2GB6eDB   *** EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com  

Akilah Richards: hosts this widely celebrated podcast, Fare of the Free Child, that features more than 150 episodes on Self-Directed Education among Black, Non-Black Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. She is the author of the forthcoming book Raising Free People, and she and her partner are raising two self-directed daughters.What Was Discussed:Last week’s episode is also inclusive of Black history when we discussed how Maleka and her daughter, Maddy, recognised how they were being treated and how they were able to connect to the unfortunate familiarity of all the “isms” (racism, ageism…) associated with that treatment, and take a stance towards their human right to exist without bias-driven, false accusations about their actions. This week’s episode will bring attention to how we tend to think of history in terms of things we survived, aka the big hurdles. While we have indeed survived many things,also have a history of knowing, and of leaning into what we “know good,” am I right? And on this podcast, we aren’t afraid to examine, to critique with love, to decide that some shit needs to change; that’s part of our healing workright? But we not going to overdevelop one wing and atrophy the other, so while the next several episodes will be about things we are working to change, let’s use this one to talk a little bit about our history of enoughness, of abundance, of applying old knowings to our lives in ways that work beautifully for us some Black folks. We are not only what we survive, we are that and so much more. We are comprised of the things we’ve always known that we can’t always explain to people in words but can feel it live it in our actions. This is a medley of episodes where past guests spoke from their own history of knowing something about themselves, knowing what was right for them, knowing that they needed to speak up even with the risk of what comes with doing so.I hope it helps you to tap into your own history of knowing what you know about yourself, this world, and your soul.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/akilah)

Our guests this week is Akilah Richards. Akilah is an unschooling podcaster (, a writer and founding board member of the Alliance for Self Directed Education. Resources mentioned in this episode: Fare of the Free Child podcast Akilah's courses Akilah's Patreon The Awarepreneurs Community Paul's business coaching site Awarepreneurs is a popular conscious business and social entrepreneurs podcast and community.  You can find out more about us at Awarepreneurs.com.

What an absolute pleasure it was to speak with Akilah Richards of Fare of The Free Child Podcast. We have both been long time fans of her work and are so grateful for this very compelling discussion. We talk about what freedom can look like in education from childhood throughout adulthood. We speak about the current state of our world and environment and share words that offer insight around oppression and liberation.  Akilah gave us both a new perspective on education and parenting. We look forward to hearing what YOU ALL think about this subject as well. If you are new here, please SUBSCRIBE we look forward to sharing with you.  --- FIND and SUPPORT AKILAH AT LINKS BELOW WEBSITE PATREON --- Episodes are available every Wednesday. We want to spread by word of mouth, so... please text this episode to your homegirl, your partner, your mama, your co-worker. Let them know what's on your heart. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, REVIEW AND RATE OUR PODCAST! Follow us on IG/FB and send questions and comments via DM or email INSTAGRAM @allheartpodcast EMAIL allheartpodcast@gmail.com ---- All Heart is a wellness podcast, healing the culture with joy and pleasure. Hosted by Noni Limar & Thea Monyeé Produced and Edited by Debbie Allen 

Confident autonomy: this is the thing Kris and Akilah Richards intend to help nurture in their daughters, Marley and Sage-Niambi. There is no one definition of it’ it’s an ability to navigate the world with a strong sense of self, an awareness of the place in the world and their capacity to influence the people and situations within it, and the tools to life well, be good to people, and make a difference in their communities. Is that a tall order? Listen to a couple of excerpts from Akilah’s essays on unschooling and deschooling, and share your own definition of confident autonomy. #BIPOCinSDEMad Question’ Askin:Is it safe to raise our children to be confident and self-aware, or will that invite more chances for them to be unfairly targeted and harmed by the social or legal arms of a racist dominant structure?Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/akilah)

TEDxAsburyPark is an annual Jersey Shore-based conference dedicated to community, education, and innovation. As a sponsor, A Shared Universe PodcaStudio often interviews our speakers and hosts interviews recorded by our sister non-profit ExpertOpen. TEDxAsburyPark Chaos speaker Akilah Richards discusses her talk “Raising Free Children”. Visit ​www.tedxasburypark.com​ for tickets to our current events.

I’m here with Akilah Richards talking about liberation. Akilah is an unschooling podcaster, consultant, and founding board member of The Alliance for Self-Directed Education. She explores privilege and power in our relationships with children and centers the voices of BIPOC raising free people. We go over history, oppression, deschooling, access, unschooling, and parenting. Get the full show notes here: www.sageparenting.com/podcast22 Support the Sage Family Podcast here: www.patreon.com/sagefamily

I talk a good game about respectful parenting and child-directed learning but deep down, I'm a typical Guyanese mother. What does that mean? My friend Nyoka Acevedo and I break it down in this episode. She's a committed educator and passionate Restorative Justice advocate. And, Nyoka is a Puerto Rican mother trying to sift through a lot of historical bullshit that weighs us down. This episode is full of questions. Not a lot of answers. And, a great tip at the end about how to teach your toddler not to scream in your face when they want your attention.  Nyoka told me about a great resource for Restorative Justice work here in Oakland! http://rjoyoakland.org/  Another shout out to friend in my head, Akilah Richards, who's raising Free Children and discussing it on her podcast   Website me:  www.htgawp.com  Email me:  htgawppodcast@gmail.com  Tweet me: @htgawp Rate and review me: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-get-away-with-parenting/id1084576130

Akilah Richards is a writer, mama, partner, digital nomad, and unschooling activist. She is the host of the Fare of the Free Child Podcast, where she supports, connects, and highlights people of color designing their own liberation through Self-Directed Education and love-centered community building. You can find the podcast at www.akilahsrichards.com/podcast/ and her website at www.akilahsrichards.com

My pal Amanda is back with me for this episode. We have a much needed rant about dealing with toddlers. We also do some pretty deep work about our efforts to parent differently than we were parented. Sometimes that means looking at some of the traumatic experiences we had as children and then undoing that mindset so that we don't impose it on our children. Like it said, it gets deep. Show Notes: Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won't Save Black America by Stacey Patton   Friend in my head (and on Twitter) and fellow black mom podcaster, Akilah Richards is teaching an online workshop about raising liberated children of color called Raising Free People.   Some books that have helped me get some perspective on life with a toddler: No Bad Kids by Janet Lansbury Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.   This TED Talk by badass Black lady pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris will open your eyes about the reality of how we raise our kids: How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime   Don't forget to binge watch Amanda's Youtube videos!   Website me:  www.htgawp.com   Email me:  htgawppodcast@gmail.com  Tweet me: @htgawp Rate and review me: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-get-away-with-parenting/id1084576130