It’s hard to tell the whole truth to someone who has power over your life. This is what makes being a parent, teacher, boss, etc. so difficult! We are constantly navigating how to have power with the people under our care so communication can be more truthful.

Philip Mott This is so true. I am working in a conventional school, trying to enact self-directed learning. It is a struggle every day - mostly with myself. Would love to interview people for my podcast, Get Out of the Way and Let Kids Learn podcast, about their experiences with school.

Borrowing from a friend: Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people.

I often talked about this in education. As I learned more about how educators support neurodiverse students I found myself asking why paperwork is necessary to provide appropriate resources. It feels like a more intense version of needing to ask to go use the bathroom.

I’ll say none. Not enough people read me or listen to me to care what I say. 😂

Our kids are getting their first visit to the beach this week. They’re having a blast playing with the infinite supply of friends that come in the form of waves smashing into them.

No running rules in some play areas has got to be one of the most absurd adult rules I’ve ever come across. It’s like a no swimming rule at a pool. If you can’t run at a playground where are you supposed to go?

I have met a number of experienced teachers and leaders in the past few days who’ve had enough and fallen out of love with the profession. We seriously need to arrest this decline.

Culture is peer pressure. We can look at behavior differently when we see behavior as part of a vibrant culture that young people are already immersed in.

Courtney correctly identifies the bias in the first statement. Adults will find more and more that there are less of their peers and less people coming of age who assume that important learning is what schools want you to learn.

Walk away, take a break, say no, *before* you feel agitated. If you always wait until you’re angry to do something for yourself it will lose its effectiveness.

My dauther’s birthday party is tomorrow so we’re having some of her friends over. We will not be attempting to organize any birthday games. Adults are often so full of themselves they forget that children know how to play.

I write sometimes like I know how learning actually happens but I hope some will notice my language shift to much more of an exploratory tone. It’s not that I believe that anything can work; learning is complex enough that it is difficult to pin down what actually is working.

I think we also want to leave space to remember that behavior that is studied is impacted by the study. I think there’s a name for it but I can’t recall what it is.

I am different to my kids when their mom is out of town for a few days. It’s like I appreciate what she does for them more when she’s not going to be around so I try to be make up for it. But if she was here asking me to do those things I would be annoyed. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I read this as, “make sure as often as you can there are times when you are not asking anything of the children in your home.” Same could be said for anyone you live with. The weight of obligation is mentally taxing.

Schools are not suited for childhood

Great thread! What Dr. Fisher describes couldn’t be possible without broad acceptance of a belief that the reason the below behaviors are easier as adults is because children were compelled to do them as youngsters.