When I began unschooling my three children in 2002, it wasn’t long before I came across the idea that strong relationships with my children were essential for unschooling—and learning in general—to thrive. At first, I thought, sure, that’s a worthwhile goal, but what exactly does that have to do with their learning? That became clear over the next months and years as I continued to question the conventional wisdom around parenting and how children learn. So, let’s explore why connected and trusting relationships with our children lie at the heart of their learning.
The Value of Relationships for Learning is a talk I originally wrote for the Canadian Online Homeschool Conference and I’m excited to share it with you guys now!
Episode Transcript
Wonderful, really touching. You have brought in all the rich aspects of unschooling together in a nice way illustrating the very important parts of our existence, which makes up the fabric of our lives, and which are so conveniently and unfortunately forgotten within the schooling system, bringing so much confusion and misery into the lives of children and adults as they grow within the schooling system. Thanks for your work!
I am new to your website. I am a divorced father to a ten year-old son who is Autistic.
I find your content and format to be the most consumable (for me) out of all the online resources I have found, especially the “dads” section.
My ex-wife and I have been unschooling our boy for almost 2 years now and I feel that our decision to unschool our kid has significantly improved all of our lives and relationship to one another.
This episode gets to the heart of the matter. Having an experiential educator background with in-depth knowledge about the “hierarchy of needs” and “flow” I should have known the important role that having strong relationships plays in the learning process. It is information I learned but have never – until recently – intentionally utilized to create a better, safer, richer learning environment for our child.
My ex-wife and I’s commitment to our child’s wellbeing has fueled a stronger, respectful relationship to one another. Our child sees that in us and as a result, he is able to relax more and be more creative and curious with his world. We can say that our son has taught us the deeper value of strong, meaningful and authentic relationships.
Thank you for this magnificent reminder and thank you for all other tools I have discovered in your website thus far. I am excited to discover more tools and discover community as well through your content.
Thanks, Victor. I really appreciate knowing this episode resonated with you. And I love how you’ve seen your relationships strengthen and your child’s engagement with his world grow. I agree—my children definitely showed me the deeper value of in strong and meaningful relationships.
All the best to you and your family. 🙂
Thank you for another great episode. Your calm voice is so comforting as well as the content.
Thanks, JJ! 🙂