Trustworthy and caring

Pam Sorooshian wrote:

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be your child's friend. Do what it takes to earn their friendship—be supportive and kind and honest and trustworthy and caring and generous and loyal and fun and interesting and interested in them and all the other things that good friends are to each other.

—Pam Sorooshian

SandraDodd.com/friend
photo by Karen James

"Collect the whole set!"

Some people collect things. Even those who don't gather and store physical objects might like hearing all of one artist's music, or seeing all the movies by a single director. I used to want to go into every public building or business in my home town. I never succeeded, but I saw each building as "yes, have been inside," or "not yet."

It might not make sense to a parent that a child wants to save feathers or rocks or movie ticket stubs. That's okay. What's important is that the unschooling parent accept that there is thought involved that might not need to make sense to anyone else. If possible, the child's whims and wishes about such things should be accepted and supported.


SandraDodd.com/focus
photo by Sandra Dodd
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Gradually, climb

Gradually, without fanfare, be more positive and more supportive.

SandraDodd.com/gradualchange has some bits about baby steps,
and about not leaping too far too fast.
photo by Sandra Dodd
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The right direction

The way to know the right direction is to identify the wrong direction.

SandraDodd.com/screwitup
photo by Bruno Machado
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Children need...

They need to be protected from physical and emotional harm. They need to have positive regard, food, shade and sun, things to see, hear, smell, taste and touch. They need someone to answer their questions and show them the world, which is as new to them as it was to us. Their growth can’t be rushed, but it can be enriched.

SandraDodd.com/thoughts
photo by Bruno Machado
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A bigger world

School kids don't know the world is a million times bigger than school's version of it.


A bigger big world
Photo by Sandra Dodd, of a first glimpse of Lisbon, but Portugal is at least a million times bigger than that. "A million times bigger" represents "unmeasurable breadth and depth," in the quote above.
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Sometimes, a little examination

This was about unschoolers helping other unschoolers, but some of it applies generally.

Helping people learn to find their own answers is vastly superior to distributing answers on demand. And those who volunteer their time and experience are not willing to hold other's hands for years or months. They want to empower others. Empowerment is a principle, not a rule. Learning to examine one's own life and needs and beliefs is necessary for unschooling to work.

SandraDodd.com/rulebound
photo by Leon McNeill, Omaha Beach, when Holly was there with them
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