Fare Of The Free Child

If you are a parent testing out Self-Directed Education (SDE) spaces, or you’re in one such space, but struggling with feelings that the facilitators should do MORE with your child—or that they should INTERVENE if your child isn’t doing ENOUGH of something constructive—this segment is for you! Also, if you’re a facilitator or volunteer in a natural learning space and you need some not-quite gentle reminders to steer us parents toward, this episode is a great place to start.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

Listen in as one Black, queer family learns how to unlearn their ideas about the purpose of schooling, and shift over to an educational and life path that encourages self-love, cultural awareness, and social justice. She and her wife, Summer, are raising both a conventional schooler and an unschooler (who is only 4). Their family is learning and unlearning, schooling and deschooling, and you get to hear all about it.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

Unschooling is really not about education. It’s about what Rastafarians like to call a LIVITY—a conscious way of approaching your day, your choices, your body, your relationships, your life—and of course, your approach to learning can’t NOT be affected by that. This conversation with edupreneur, Scott Speed, is gonna dive into the inner workings of starting a school, but we’re also gonna talk about shedding old skin, facing new truths, or realizing old truths that were just covered up in schoolishness, and walking that liberation walk even when the people around you ain’t feelin’ it.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.yo

Speaking on resistance, patois, and Self-Directed Education at AERO Conference. Here's a bit of a recap from my first Alternative Education conference. Speakers like Dennis Littky, Peter Gray, Johnathon Kozol, and thought-leaders like Aaron Eden and German Doin really encouraged me to keep doing this work.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

This is about the work of fitting in versus figuring out. Atlanta-based flight attendant, wife, and mother of three—Katrina Morrison—discusses the choice of following a path you already envisioned and a process/relationship you’ve already invested in, versus starting anew. She tells us about her family structure and why the shift from charter school to unschooling felt like a major challenge.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

This week, Akilah talks about how Jamaican cultural icon and folklorist, Dr. Louise "Miss Lou" Bennett-Coverley influences her unschooling approach to parenting. She also discusses how discipline can be deschooled to embrace a whole-person, decolonized approach to making life changes. An announcement for an Atlanta open house is also in the mix, plus plenty more. Come sit with us.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

We're talking parenting patois, patronage, unschooling progress, in-person meetups, and plenty more today. This is a mash-up episode, where I'm sharing a little bit of a lot. Enjoy!Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

In episode 45, I answer a question from someone who attended my unschooling webinar today. She asked about the process of going from homeschooling to unschooling, and I expound on a response from a longtime unschooler inside the webinar. Plus, I give an overview of unschooling, so don't miss those details.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

When Maleka Diggs moved to an affluent Philadelphia neighborhood so that she and her husband could get their daughters into the best school, she was shocked to face racism from the school's principal. Soon after, she set out to create the sort of academic and community-centered environment she wanted for her daughters, instead of trying to fit them into the school's culture. Eclectic Learning Network was born, and today, Philly-based families are benefiting from Maleka's commitment.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

Do unschoolers study? Is there a curriculum in unschooling? In this episode, Marley, a 13-year-old unschooler who happens to be my daughter discusses her current curriculum. She is deeply immersed in dance/performance, writing/research, and game design. Find out how structure develops naturally, how we address personality conflicts, and of course, we offer laughter and good vibes all up and through. Here's what life looks like for an unschooling teenager.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

In this episode, Tennessee-based edupreneur, Sonia LeBlanc, brings us personal insights along with solid statistics about the southern United State’s school classifications and exemptions. She talks about how to Start a School in Nashville, Tennessee, specifically a Sudbury Valley School (a democracy-focused Self-Directed Education center) in Nashville. We learn how in Maryland, for example, people looking to start their own schools begin by forming their own church, then opening up a school under that church’s legal umbrella. In Tennessee, it’s much more than that. Sonia explains the process and how it differs from other states. Sonia, a White woman who was born and raised in Dominican Republic, and her husband—a Black man from Puerto Rico (who was raised in St. Croix and in Dominica where his family is from) are raising two brown girls in the American South, and wants to be part of the change in relationships among people in the world by raising more self-aware, socially just, liberation-minded children. #P

In this episode, I talk with my sister-friend, Veronica, a retired servicewoman who now calls Atlanta home. “A majority of young adults, like me, spend their late teens and early 20’s grooming themselves into who they desire to be and stripping away the collected ways of everyone else. What I’ve heard it most referred to as is the time that most children rebel against their parents but it’s far from that. It’s actually the time that old children become young adults and began to shape who they want to be as much as they can. Sad to say, autonomous growth is not allowed in most institutions or households so it takes place later in life than it should if you ask me. I was no different this process took place way later at least that’s what it felt like but for some, it may be even later. So here I am, creating what feel right for me. Giving myself permission to do any and everything differently and autonomously, and creating space that allows women to transition into a self-guided spiritually grounded living and

Yolonda Jones: creative spirit. writer. professional photog.professional natural hair stylist. professional singer. professional black girl as Dr. Yaba Blay would say. Yolonda’s crown rises high like her ambitions and her intentions. She and her partner, her husband, Will, are raising 4 free people, two daughters and twin sons, while simultaneously raising themselves as creatives, as business owners, as people with flaws and fire.    Yolonda and Will have a blog called The Real Life Joneses where they risk expression about life in and beyond the brokenness. They talk about PTSD, depression, liberatory approaches to education and living with children, infidelity, creative brilliance, all of it.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively throu

In this episode, Los Angeles-based natural learning advocate, Genesis Ripley, talks about the myriad of ways the liberated parenting journey has changed her for the better. She shares some of the ways it helps to grow her and heal her relationships. The reality for Genesis is that this approach to parenting and living is helping her to better understand herself and the people she spend time. I can agree, as unschooling has an inevitable side-effect of shedding and strengthening friendships and even our own relationships with our parents at times. We talked about how our children get to be themselves, which frees us up to recognize the ways that we’ve been holding on to things that aren’t even about us, but we just didn’t recognize our own freedom to let that stuff go.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at

13-year-old unschooler, Marley Richards, talks about her experiences with facing fears, navigating new territories, and making new friends across South Africa.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

This episode, Akilah's special guest is Kris Richards, her husband. Listen in as they talk about their experience at Re-Imagined Learning Center run by two young, Self-Directed Education advocates, CheVanni and Sebastian David. They'll also answer a patron's question about how the manage to live the digital nomad lifestyle. Great conversation with lots of takeaways to feel through. Enjoy!Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@fareofthefreechildThe Village:https://my-reflection-matters.mn.co/

In episode 36, Atlanta-based military veteran and entrepreneur, Veronica Ashley, talks about being an unschooling adult. Veronica spent a few days with Marley and Sage (my daughters), and saw quite a few parallels between her own journey to a greater leadership role in her own life. In learning more about herself, freeing her mind from much of the training and trauma that cost her so much, Veronica is deschooling herself and embracing a life design of her own accord. Listen in as she talks about learning from Marley and Sage, nurturing healthy partnerships, and fostering autonomous growth.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://www.rfpunschool.com/p/manifestoOur Youtube channelhttps://

Here’s the story about how a Nuyorican woman who worked atNew York University as a social justice coach for educators is now living a life that evolved from a great career nestled inside academia into now unschooling her two Afro-Latinx sons, Judah and Keanu, along with her Trinidadian husband, Shane. Unschooling, as you’ve heard me say since the very first episode of Fare of the Free Child, is a tool for liberation. And of course, liberation don’t fit in no box, so for Chemay, liberation isn’t just for her family, it’s a path she wants paved clear for all Black and Brown folks to have the resources to liberate themselves too. So, to do that work, Chemay is in the heat and heart of building an community-centered organization, a space called My Reflection Matters, that provides tools to support and nurture healthy racial and cultural identities of Black and Brown children and older youth.Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang goin

In this episode, we connect with an African-American living in Africa. Kaylan’s story is very much about about directing her own path, going against the norm to  design a liberatory practice that for her meant exploring life outside of corporate America and the standard American dream. She runs a blog titled African-American in Africa, which is where I first learned about Kaylan. She is now married and she and her husband have a young son. Kaylan is learning how to make space for her son to develop his own interests outside of the things Kaylan associates with a happy childhood. Plenty of life lessons in parenting, equity, history and politics, and so much more for this adventurous, conscious Mama. This is a great episode; enjoy!Support the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path

Atlanta and DC-based travel industry professional and Self-Directed Education loving Mama, Kenya Scott joins us once again. Her son has been benefiting from SDE as a learner over at Heartwood ALC, and in this episode, we chop it up about socio-economic misconceptions, respectability politics, some pretty important shifts in perspective, and so much more. It’s always a pleasure to vibe with Kenya; you’re gonna enjoy this episode. We also mentioned a few other episodes: Kid Cultivators’ co-founder, Leslie Bray; Heartwood ALC co-founder, Anthony Galloway, Jr; Dida Academy co-founder, Danielle A. Levine; Kenya’s first time on the podcast. #POCinSDESupport the showDig this show? Join our make-it-happen family at patreon.com/akilah to make sure we can keep this thang going strong. Thank you!The Raising Free People Practice Card Deckhttps://schoolishness.com/market/rfp-a-practice-deck/Peek at the details of Personal Manifesto Path (will be available exclusively through our make-it-happen family on Patreon)https://ww