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Finding the Opportunities Underneath this Quarantine Burden
We are experiencing the largest global effort to distance ourselves from one another than anyone alive has ever seen. This call to action goes against the very nature of our humanness, which is to gather socially. I know it will be a huge mental and emotional challenge for many people. My wish for each of us is that we will find, underneath this burden, opportunities. The light in the dark. The purpose inside the pain. The soulful connection despite the physical distancing. While we are social by nature and seek out activities that bring us together, many of us will be spending a lot more time with our own family…
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Top posts of 2019
2019 has been a big year for the Let ’em go Barefoot community! The number of supporters has continued to rise and the amount of overall engagement on Facebook and Instagram has stopped me in my tracks quite a few times. What has excited me the most is the noticeable shift in perspectives. The things that stir me and inspire me to write are typically not topics for the masses, but this appears to be changing. More people are seeking information about educational choices. More people are seeking articles and research that speak to the critical importance of the early years of a human’s life. More people seem to understand…
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Are You a Conscious Educator?
I have been in the classrooms of our public and private schools. I have been on the administrative side. I have seen amazing people work magic with “difficult” kids, I have seen teachers who love their job and joyfully show up each day to be in the midst of the children they serve. I have also seen the dark side of the classroom: the shaming talk, the disappointing glares, the frustrated tones and the cold attitudes. And it is not pretty. It has been said that “teaching is the hardest job in the world”. Usually at a rally to roaring cheers, but also in a coffee shop or around a conference…
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Promises
Promises I hear it in the way you speak, the words you use, the tone you choose. The anger, disgust, contempt are like spikes in my soft skin. I have made you mad, again. It seems I am built defective, wired wrong a mixture of thoughts, ideas, opinions, and hopes misfiring daily. Then, you smile and my entire body lights up. There is a warmth that surrounds my heart cradled like my infant body once was when you were ecstatic to meet me. But it doesn’t last long. The more familiar feeling of being cold and alone replaces the warmth, like an ice bucket dumped on a struggling flame. It’s…
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Society Will Change—One Peaceful Parent at A Time
“What if war was not inevitable? What if tyranny, human rights abuses and ecological destruction were not inescapable? And what if the means to prevent them were in the hands of ordinary mums and dads, and all those involved in the care and education of children? Are these idealistic or Utopian flights of fancy? Not at all, if we consider some of the most valuable insights gained in recent years.” excerpt from Parenting for a Peaceful World by Robin Grille When I was in high school the 10,000 Maniacs’ song “What’s the Matter Here?” came out. The lyrics were a chilling reminder of how many children suffer daily at…
