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Intro
There are a lot of resources out there for
parents- natural parenting, attachment parenting, and on and on.
There are a lot of resources out there for promoting social
change led by and with young people- DIY media, community
involvement, youth-led activism, and on and on. But there aren't
a lot of resources out there promoting parenting young people
for social change, particularly the progressive,
populist-oriented action we advocate at The Freechild Project.
Point to Ponder
"[My experience] has left me with immutable
optimism about the potential of young adolescent children. Given
learning opportunities that truly challenge, the responsibility
to exercise meaningful choices, and respect for their ideas and
dignity, youngsters are capable of tremendous commitment and
dazzling originality. Underneath the confounding, frustrating,
and often exhausting surface, there lies an indomitable human
spirit, capable of the exceptional." - C. Stevenson in "Teaching
Ten to 14-Year-Olds"
Resources
The following are resources The Freechild Project
has identified for people who want to parent children and youth
for social change. Included here are websites, organizations,
and books.
Websites
Learn about Adultism
Adultism may be the very root of destructive relationships
between parents and young people.
Youth Activism: Pointers for Parents
From expert author Wendy Lesko. Provides needed advice on
embracing and encouraging young people's voices and power.
Organizations
Daughters Sisters Project
We
developed a model to provide that safe space— teen talking
circles — where young people can seek and express their truth,
be in touch with their innate wisdom, and practice skills that
foster nurturing, sustainable relationships; a circle where
young women and men become empowered in their own lives and the
world they live in.
Taking Children Seriously
TCS is a radically new and different idea about child-rearing.
Its most distinctive feature is the idea that it is both
possible and desirable to bring up children entirely without
doing things to them against their will, or making them do
things against their will, and that they are entitled to the
same rights, respect and control over their lives as adults. TCS
is an educational philosophy in the broadest sense, in that it
is about the conditions under which human minds do and do not
thrive, and about how people learn and how knowledge is created,
and it has far-reaching implications for all relationships and
for all areas of life. It is a whole new world-view.
The Center for Nonviolent Education and
Parenting
Parents share the dreams they have for children by thinking
about values we want to impart, using our power in a way
that guides, learn the tools of "Connecting Communication," earn
how to let go of the oppressive communication styles, focus on
the emotional vocabulary of needs and feelings, and on making
requests rather than demands, learn how to set limits that keep
children safe and help them engage socially, and practice
non-violent anger management and problem solving.
Publications
Parenting For Youth Liberation: an
interview with Cynthia Peters
In
this interview author Cynthia Peters explores the question "How
can parents behave in a non-oppressive way?"
Youth, Parenting and the Left
By
Tim Allen. This article explores misconceptions of young people,
and the ability parents have to make lasting, sustainable
differences in the lives of youth, particularly by encouraging
activism.
Hip Mama
A
magazine bursting with political commentary and ribald tales
from the front lines of motherhood- and a good read for dads,
too.
Escape from Childhood
By
John Holt. This is the classic call for young people's
empowerment through parental action. A risky read that might
offend some parents and inspire others.
Treating
Children as Equals
By
Jodi Wright (editor of Motherwear magazine). This article details how parents are complicit in adultism and how we
can fight adultism at home.
Ariel Gore
Anything she writes needs to be read by any sensible parent who
is committed to encouraging their child to live in meaningful
ways.
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