More from Peter Gray's book, Free to Learn. How schools kill critical thinking; what this means for "high achieving" students makes it particularly scary to me:

"the grading system, which is the chief motivator throughout our system of education, is a powerful force against honest debate and critical thought in the classroom. In a system in which we teachers do the grading, few students are going to criticize or even question the ideas we offer, and if we try to induce criticism by grading for it, we generate false criticism.

To think critically, people must feel motivated and free to voice their own ideas and raise their own questions. But in school students learn that their own ideas and questions don't count. What counts are their abilities to provide the "correct" answers to questions that they did not ask and that do not interest them. And "correct" means the answers that the teachers or the test producers are looking for, not necessarily answers that the student really understands or cares about, or really believes are correct, or finds useful in daily life"

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#mumstr #momstr #parenting #family #kids #school #unschooling

I should also mention that this book was on Sylvia's (npub1hwmj92v64rm0rj7rtartccr7hldpnumrmq2zd285f8dy6u0jknxs2vsum6) recommended reading list too, in the show notes for Ep 2!

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Just read this in "Free To Learn" by Peter Gray: "Hunter-gatherers' sense of autonomy is so strong that they refrain from telling one another what to do. They even refrain from offering unsolicited advice to one another, so as to avoid the appearance of interfering with the other's freedom."

I would totally be a hated busy-body in a hunter-gatherer society. Unsolicited advice is my love language 😂

h/t nostr:nprofile1qqsyuzy0xzrldfl8p97wtlnlmzzwcpxac60ddnwn0327yq8hw3930yspz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhspy4d6t for the book rec, it's an eye/mind opener. #parenstr #mumstr #momstr #kidstr #parenting #kids

I quite liked the book, it's a useful toolkit full of strategies if it seems like your kids aren't listening - they're ideas of what you can say and do, and also how to adjust your own expectations (eg. are they developmentally ready for whatever you're asking, and how are you feeling etc.). And it also has some good nuggets of research, eg. young kids need time to process what you say, so sometimes count to ten after you say something to wait for them to respond. I'd say this book was one of the most recommended among people who practice so-called "gentle parenting", which has a bad rep (because people think it means giving into all your kids' whims), but this book actually shows a lot of ways to hold boundaries and enforce rules, while being respectful and kind to each other, and validating one another's emotions.

I also read "How Children Learn" by John Holt just before this book, and a lot of things resonate, eg. letting children explore widely and not interrupting when they're concentrating etc. that sort of respect is quite different from my own upbringing where fearful discipline ruled and emotions were never said out loud. So I think they're pretty good companion books actually. Would love to know what other education/parenting books you enjoyed! Will look up the ones you mentioned.

GM! Who has read "How to talk so little kids will listen"? What are some other parenting books out there that you like?

#mumstr #momstr #parenting #kids #parentstr #family #bookstr

Thanks for the mention, and what a cool list!

#mumstr #momstr #kidstr #parentstr

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Steiner (Waldorf) and Montessori schools both came about at the height of the Industrial Revolution. What do you think that context tells us about these popular routes of "alternative" education? (Not a rhetorical question!)

🫂 ❤️

😂 and you probably won't be stopping for a while

GM! My plan for the weekend didn't include a trip to the emergency room, but that's just something else to throw into the #mumstr pile, innit. #momstr #parentstr

Interesting idea - we talk a little about zaps allowances/income for kids in our newest episode too.

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Episode 3: https://fountain.fm/episode/x5yIFLZkuGNVATwH0cyc

What on Earth is this Reply Guy bot though 😡

New episode! This is a special one as I'm speaking to nostr:nprofile1qqst68senq8zey0xm3jhaykz2a3v4zpwhynj6fteugslqdlex7ydaygprfmhxue69uhhg6r9vehhyetnwshxummnw3erztnrdaksz9thwden5te0v4jx2m3wdehhxarj9ekxzmnyqyt8wumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnwdaehgu3wvfskueqgzfsff of #Damus, the first woman I followed on Nostr (tune in to hear me get flustered trying not to sound ungrateful for male devs on Nostr 😂).

We cover a lot in his episode, from social media and screentime for kids, travelling with a school-aged kid, to what marketing means for #Nostr and Damus.

Fountain:

https://fountain.fm/episode/x5yIFLZkuGNVATwH0cyc

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3e3CRc5BnKtusYQInowBfI

#mumstr #momstr #parenting #kids

Just recorded another great episode! Every time I interview a mum, I learn so much, and I love listening to everyone's stories — our lives are so different and yet with Bitcoin as a starting point, you always know you're talking to someone who "gets it". Can't wait to share it with you all. Let's hope my little one naps soundly so I can get some editing done 😂😴 #mumstr #momstr #parenstr #podcast

Very applicable to parenting too. As the saying goes, "the days are long, but the years are short". #mumstr #momstr #parentstr #parenting

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Cool idea! #mumstr #momstr #parentstr #parenting #kids

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Thank you so much for sharing! ❤️

Just thought I'd add that that's the same excuse politians use to censor the internet 😂 In all seriousness though, Internet access is inevitable and actually very useful (look at us here!) when done right, so would some education work instead?

In a nutshell... #mumstr #momstr #parentstr #kids

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Welcome! 🤗