Join us for our Freedom & Responsibility conference calls
Announcing Freedom & Responsibility Conference Calls for one and all!
Barb Lundgren of Rethinking Everything will host 7 free conference calls
over the course of 7 weeks during July and August.
All calls will address topics critical to the discussion and understanding
of creating environments for children, teens and families that support maximum
opportunity for individual freedom with responsibility.
Guest facilitators, all of whom will be speakers/facilitators at RE this year, will co-host each call.
when: Wednesdays at noon, CST for 1 hour (click here for all other time zones),
beginning on July 14. 7 live calls altogether.
call: 1.218.862.1300 at noon, conference code 537274
(you will pay for your own long distance charge)
Specifics:
Wednesday, July 14: Barb Lundgren with Scott Noelle
Scott is the father of two unschoolers, age 9 and 13, and the author of The Daily Groove: How to Enjoy Parenting... Unconditionally! His website is www.EnjoyParenting.com
Topic: Are You Ready for Freedom and Responsibility?
click to the right of this box to listen to the mp3 recording now!
As much as we might dream about and want to create rich environments of unconditional love and support for our children's and teens' freedom-based learning, the fact is we can't give what we don't have! If we feel enslaved to work, bound by beliefs, stuck in relationships, burdened by chores, or addicted to others' approval, we have yet to claim for ourselves the kind of freedom and responsibility we want our children to have. This can lead to feelings of resentment towards our children and even lapses into the kind of adversarial parenting behaviors we've rejected. In this call, we will address some of the conditioned thoughts and beliefs that are difficult to let go of and offer strategies to unload that baggage once and for all, so you can be confident and free to move ahead and create the life you dream of.
Wednesday, July 21: Barb Lundgren with Sarah Parent
Sarah is the unschooling mom of two kids aged 5 and 7 and is the author of Humans Being and Clan of Parents.
Topic: Replacing Manipulative and Coercive Parenting Behavior with Trust and Allowance to Foster Maximum Freedom and Responsibility for Ourselves and Our Children and Teens
Despite our well intentioned motives, we err when we fall back on old school, conditioned ideas of what children need to become responsible beings. Notions of withholding privileges, time outs, "natural consequences," forcing a child to complete unfinished projects, setting meal times and bed times, for example, are all old school ways of being with children that result in resentment, angst, disinterest and a general lack of taking responsibility. Let's dissect how the development of self responsibility really takes place and some of the myriad loving and respectful ways of communicating with children and teens that fosters this.
Wednesday, July 28: Barb Lundgren with Teresa Brett
Teresa is the unschooling mom of two boys and the author of Parenting for Social Change.
Topic: The Spiral of Learning, Growth, Freedom and Responsibility
The idea of learning as a spiral comes from Paulo Freire's discussion of praxis (action and reflection). It is the notion that learning is much more like a spiral than a linear progression of knowledge and skill development. For us parents, rather than progressing linearly, we will often revisit the same challenges. When we consciously develop the ability to reflect on our actions, we hopefully revisit the issue from a perspective that is further up the spiral, requiring thoughtful work on our part. Let's talk about the thoughtful process that is required of us as we challenge ourselves to upgrade our actions, our communication with our children and teens and move gradually up the spiral to a place of real confidence and unconditionality.
Wednesday, August 4: Barb Lundgren with Courtney Taylor Clay
Courtney is an unschooling mom of a 9 month old son and is herself a product of a lifetime of unschooling, self direction and self responsibility.
Topic: Raising Teens with Maximum Freedom and Self Responsibility
Who says being a teen has to be difficult? Who says teens lack motivation and are irresponsible? It doesn't have to be this way! In an environment of respect, love and unconditional support, teens thrive, self direct and experiment with life in exciting and profoundly intelligent ways that foster growth, independence and self ownership. We'll talk about how to achieve this empowered and enlightened state with your teens, or soon-to-be teens.
Wednesday, August 11: Barb Lundgren with Quinn Eaker
Quinn is Barb's oldest child and a grown unschooler.
Topic: Responsibility is the New Compassion
Many people believe compassion is high level action, a sacred/good/right/high feeling and/or thought about another. This, like with all else, is ok, but the reality remains that the energetics of what it is based on is dysfunctional.
Compassion is based on the idea that there are people who NEED help, that there is nothing you can do for them besides feel sorry for them, pray for them, decide for them, take care of life details for them or donate goods to their cause. All of this is just a handicap for ongoing dysfunction and thus makes the individual who expresses compassion part of the dysfunction.
This conference call is designed with focus on the parent/child relationship to bring forth some realities of freedom and responsibility. As an example, let's say one has a child..and this child is upset, angry, shy, frustrated, sad or some other aspect of bad energetic. Instead of adopting the feeling of "I will pray for my child to find his way or I will buy her something to ease the pain," a parent could choose instead to talk to the child about how he is feeling, sharing that it is ok to feel however one may feel but there ARE options.there are alternatives.there are infinite possibilities. Or, possibly an even higher action would be to know that pain is a part of life, as is confusion, uncertainty, doubt, and all may all be a part of evolution. This is OK. IT IS NOT a bad thing and actually very important in the self-existing and growth process. It is important that an individual be able to deal with one's own thoughts feelings and life. It is important that one is able to know that she has the ability to influence her own experience and that she is capable of dealing with whatever experience life brings forth. Until an individual is capable of dealing with one's own thoughts, feelings, actions and overall life one will continue to be subject to the system of government/school/corporation/control/manipulation/dogma that is established for them.
There are many people who are aware that they dont really like what is going on but have no idea what to do to shift or engage beneficial new realities to unfold. There are so many people that do not think for themselves but look to others for guidance. This is a guaranteed path to suffering.
There is no benefit in taking care of everything for a child, with regard to thinking, choosing, and deciding for a child. One may think this is compassionate and that compassion is holy but, in fact, it is a handicap that does not serve the parent nor the child.
Children are born of pure potential. It is, in fact, this world that they are born into and their parents that birth them that is replete with fear, limitation, doubt, lack, control, manipulation, war, abuse, compromise, suffering etc., etc. Why is it that these children need adult guidance? Why is it that they need adult TEACHINGS? Why is it that they need adult COMPASSION????
They do not, of course, and though the title of this is cool and powerful it still boils down to the fact that children are born capable and connected and by living in this world and the influence of the world around them that they lose connection to that.
The alternative to all this is Responsibility. Children will NOT be responsible until they actually HAVE responsibility. Most children are not only irresponsible but wild, destructive and rebellious because they have not experienced real responsibility. When a child is authentically able to choose for himself, when he sleeps, how he keeps his room, how he treats others, what he does with his time/thoughts/feelings, this child becomes very involved in the process we call LIFE. A child becomes fully engaged and efficient with her choices and chooses highly beneficial realities for herself. It is only when a child does not have responsibility that she is irresponsible and seemingly wastes her time.
A child is born with an inner guidance system that is highly sensitive and in tune with what is important. Every time a child is forced, controlled, manipulated, advised or taught something not actively sought, he is further and further from this natural state of being.
Give your child full responsibility for her life, her choices and follow where that energy goes. Provide unconditional support and love. When a child needs/wants something you have to offer you can be sure that child will come to you with a clear and honest request.
Mistakes may be part of life and a free, responsible child may make them as well. What a free, responsible child will not do that children without responsibility WILL do is repeat mistakes, for when one is living for oneself and responsible for all that one does it is silly to repeat mistakes. When a child has no responsibility then the mistakes are not for them but for others. If a child has no responsibility she will not care if she breaks something. Actually, a child might want to break or ruin things to rebel against control. A child who is responsible will know that unless there is some very important reason it is not beneficial to break things.
Let's talk about all this and more during this conference call.
Wednesday, August 18: Barb Lundgren with Brent Cameron
Brent is the unschooling dad of a 30 year old daughter and the author of Self Design, the result of over 20 years of research and reflection into the empowered life of the unschooled.
Topic: Support Your Growth to Freedom-Based Learning and Self-Responsibility
Would you welcome the tools to host your own support group for freedom-based learning, aka self design, aka unschooling? We're not talking about just any unschool support group, but a focused, resource-full web of knowledge, experience and ideas - all designed to assist you with your greatest desire to create a home environment that supports your and your child/teen's independent drive to explore the world on their own terms, learn in fulfilling, self-directed ways and connect with the joy of a fully engaged life? You'll be able to do just that after this call.
Wednesday, August 25: Barb Lundgren with Chris Parent
Chris is the unschooling dad of two kids aged 5 and 7 and the author of Life Perspectives from an Unschooling Dad
Topic: Helping the Reluctant Partner Become Free and Responsible
Many of us see our primary roadblock to a family life centered on freedom and responsibility as the challenge of living with a spouse or partner who is either resistant, reluctant, skeptical or downright set in their conditioned ways. It can be challenging indeed to foster all that is required of us when moving toward a life of "freedom to set the course for our own life" that we wish to create for our children and teens - and ourselves. Let's strategize on the ways you can experiment with that will inspire and compel our partners to want more information, let go of the old ways of thinking and being and open to the rich possibilities for connectedness, mutual support, freedom-based learning and self responsibility.
For ongoing discussions on wide-ranging freedom & responsibility topics, join the Freedom and Responsibility yahoo discusssion group and ask your questions, express your fears and reservations, conquer everything that stands in the way of your desire to live a joyful and empowered life with your children, teens and family!
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