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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/
We're continuing our language vibe this week on #fofcpod episode! First, you'll hear from Juan Pablo Pérez, audio manager of Fare of the Free Child, as he shares his thoughts on Episode 241: Freeing Your Approach to Language Studies (with Marley Richards). He talks about his experience as a Spanish native speaker who, like Marley, taps into language as a way of developing an identity that includes more than the culture he was born into. Juan's interests in music, for example, sit outside his cultural background, and those experiences help Juan Pablo to feel a strong sense of self that isn't limited by location or familiarity.For the rest of the episode, Akilah gives us some gems about the importance of language and the many ways we can engage it as parts of our unschooling and deschooling practices. And of course, #maddquestionaskin is all up and through the episode.Is there a difference between a definition of a word and an understanding of a word?How have words evolved from having a definition to having a meaning?Akilah refers to language as something that goes beyond the accent and vocabulary, and something we can see as being part of a whole culture and context, and not some isolated thing that we pluck from a culture.Who is this language tied to?What are some of the non-verbal cues of this culture? How can I learn more about body language, symbols, and other elements of communication and culture?Akilah shared some of the conversation she had with Zakiyya Ismail (at the Summerhill Festival of Childhood) about the evolution of these particular words in their unschooling journeys:LearningPowerTrustCommunityResistanceAkilah pulled a card from the Raising Free People practice decks and invited us this activity:Think about these words (that comprise this deck),Choose two or three of them and sit with the evolution of your understanding of that word.Akilah explains through her experience with Spanish the insights and learning process of making associations. She also talks about words that are very specific to her practices and the understanding of them. She then reflects on the her experiences that came with recognizing herself as both oppressed to oppressor, and how that shows up in her motherwork.LIBERATION WALKListen and jam along with Miss Lou - Long time Gal on Bajanbloom Bloom's Youtube channelAkilah would love to receive some feedback about this episode. Think about the Card Deck words. Go on and press that “Leave a Voice Message” button on the right side or email her at she@raisingfreepeople.comJoin our Podcast Village so you don't miss any of our Feel Trip invitationsSubscribe to Akilah's Youtube ChannelSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/akilah)
"We need to have a conversation about developing a set of tools and a solidarity around raising free people who are also aware people. This is vital especially since we’re not using tools of oppression in attempts force our children into an awareness of our deeply unjust society. We need to normalize the conversation and safe space-making in takes to explore this, and this is one effort in that direction. We’re not raising children in a bubble, so the conversation and tools are an inevitably necessary part of the journey to raising free and aware people. Raising free aware people is how we work toward dismantling oppressive systems – systems that they will inevitably face and be oppressed by, or systems they will face and benefit from while oppressing others. It’s a cycle that we need to break, and it will not happen if we are not deliberate and clear about our intentions. Raising free, aware people isn’t a mere conversation topic, it is a responsibility we have in endeavoring to help transform our world." - Zakiyya Ismail, growingminds.co.zaSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/akilah)
Zakiyya Ismail is an unschooling mom of three kids, ages 10 to 19. Earlier this year, she hosted the first Learning Reimagined Family Conference in South Africa. She also shares her wonderful insights into the unschooling lifestyle on her website, growingminds.co.za. Our conversation spans from her journey to unschooling, through the idea of deschooling parents […]
"That shift from beloved, all-black schools to white schools where black students were always seen as interlopers, as not really belonging, taught me the difference between education as the practice of freedom and education that merely strives to reinforce domination." -bell hooks In this episode, we’re breaking the stereotype that unschooling is a white, male, middle-class thing. I’m so excited to share a peek into Zakiyya Ismail’s life and work. She is a longtime self-directed education advocate and mother of two young adults and a 9-year old, all of whom are life-long unschoolers. Zakiyya and her husband wanted their children to have the space to define themselves outside of predominant ideologies, and they saw that school was not where that would happen. “Why should we restrict ourselves to our geographic location, when we can find people we can connect with anywhere in the world?” -Zakiyya Ismael, The Learning Reimagined Conference, South AfricaSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/akilah)
Let's Talk Possibility with Telana Simpson | Exploring what's possible
The GMO industry is complex and dynamic, and some of the latest developments will have a significant impact on us, and future generations. Zakiyya Ismail, Consumer Campaigner, for the African Centre for Biosafety, joins Telana Simpson to shed some light on what is meant by GMO, and what is happening in the industry today that we should be paying attention to. For more information see: http://talkpossibility.innercoaching.co.za/why-should-we-pay-attention-to-gmos-ep-118/