A year ago on my birthday I had just gotten out of an abusive relationship. I was gearing up to go to a silent, ten-day meditation retreat and I was contemplating heeding the deep voice growing within that said, “quit your job.” As the school year ended, (I was teaching 5th grade full-time) I began…
Unschooling
The Way I Am: My Story & How to Solve Problems
“If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem.” ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti With the events of the Boston Marathon bombings, I’ve begun to share a little more openly that I question authority and am open-minded. It’s spurred some hot debate. Predictably,…
I am Rachel and I Speak for the Children
It may seem strange, all my posts about “unschooling” or homeschooling. You may think to yourself, “Wasn’t she a school teacher?” “Doesn’t she still teach kids?” The answer is Yes. For a long time now I’ve been grappling with the wisdom of my heart, which says that our children deserve freedom to play, time in…
Why You Should Unschool Your Kids
There’s a Native American story that in some tribes, to know how the tribe was faring, its members would ask: “How are the children?” I’ve been in public education in varying capacities for over ten years now. I’ve had my hands on the pulse of America’s youth. I can tell you, it’s not working. We…
There is a Massive Women’s Movement Happening On-Line, Are You Aware?
There is a huge women’s movement happening right now. We are not in the streets holding picket signs. We are not being filmed burning our bras. Our mothers and sisters and aunts and grandmothers already did that. The ground-work has been laid. The fire, ignited. We women, we aren’t talking about what we want. Not…
Bring Your Shadow into the Light of Day and Play!
I remember sitting there in the dark classroom, the moment I decided I sucked at math and I was not as smart as anyone else. It was first grade. We’d had a “Mad-Minute” timed test and I couldn’t do as many subtraction problems as fast as those around me. That day, the teacher gave me…