Giveaway winner for December is Tammy Stephens, congrats Tammy. So everyone check out Tammy's page and leave her a note to say hello.

January Giveaway:

The Happy Child by Steven Harrison

"Perhaps all that education aspires to be is the preparation of the young person for their role in the larger society. This is certainly a good idea for society, but in the efficiency of producing citizen workers, are we missing the deeper meaning and higher purpose of learning? Have we forgotten about the spirit of the child, the purpose of this one life, the unique and fragile expression of a passionate and integrated life?" -- from The Happy Child

In this thought-provoking new book, best-selling author Steven Harrison ventures far outside the box of traditional thinking about education. His radical proposal? Children naturally want to learn, he asserts, so let them direct their own education in democratic learning communities where they can interact seamlessly with their neighborhoods, their towns, and the world at large. Most learning systems apply external motivation through grades, rankings, teacher direction, and approval. The Happy Child suggests that a self-motivated child who is interdependent within a community can develop the full human potential to live a creative and fulfilling life. Harrison focuses on the integration of the whole child, the learning environment, and the non-coercive spirit of curiosity-driven education.

Part social-critic, part humanistic visionary, Harrison not only focuses on a reorientation of education, but the possibility of rethinking our families, communities and workplaces, and ultimately what gives our children, and all of us, real happiness. Harrison adds his voice to those of A. S. Neil, John Holt, and John Gatto who believe that contemporary schools can never be reformed sufficiently, but must be abandoned entirely for something new and vital to emerge.

If you are interested in winning this book, please go to the forum's page and leave a message in the giveaway discussion.

Dallen and the Rainforest
by Pam Genant

My son Dallen, now age ten (written in 2004), has always felt connected to the earth. He enjoys nature and wildlife and loves going to zoos, sometimes critiquing them on how he feels they replicate an animal’s natural habitat, or commenting on how stressed or not stressed the animal must feel. We have read real books about animals and endangered species for as long as I can remember, and Dallen has taken a special interest in animal habitats and their protection.

I don’t remember exactly where we found the link, but his favorite website has always
been www.cloudforestalive.org, a wonderful, interactive site that deals with the Cloud
Forests of Central America. His passion for animals has led us to have quite a collection here at home as well, and he makes sure that we only purchase captive bred animals and that we provide as realistic a habitat as possible.

From all his reading, and our reading together, he found an organization to support with his money – The Rainforest Alliance. This has been a source of comfort to him because he sees that he is doing something to help. In reading one of their reports several years ago, he discovered that Home Depot, the large home improvement chain store, was buying lumber from companies that clear cut the rainforest. And, while many stores had started buying only approved lumber (lumber that has been selectively cut, not affecting the ecosystem of the forest), Home Depot was not one of them.

This became a bit of a dilemma for our family, as we are home improvement NUTS, and Home Depot had been much like a second home for us. But, after hearing our son speak so passionately about the plight of the rainforest and the animals that call it home, we couldn’t ignore this new information. So, we started sending our business elsewhere, and I helped Dallen find ways to speak out and support his cause. He began sending e-mails and letters to Home Depot explaining his position and asking for their help. We talked with the people at the local Home Depot to make sure they were aware of the practices of their company. To inform them about Home Depot, Dallen talked to anyone who would listen, and he encouraged them to join our family in our boycott of the company chain. He returned again and again to different websites in order to see how the campaign was going.

One day, he received an update in the mail stating that Home Depot had changed their practices and would be purchasing lumber and wood products from companies that used certified wood. That was an amazing day for Dallen. HE had made a difference – Dallen, an individual, and a young one at that. Most people probably considered his information simply the ramblings of a child, but he learned that when you add up all the individuals out there that care, you have quite a voice. You can make a difference. You can make a change. The light in his eyes and the joy on his face was something that I will never forget.

Through this experience, he has learned that you don’t have to accept things as they are. So often, people in our society see things as black and white. “Those are the rules and I have to obey them, end of story.” Or, “This is just the way it is and I can’t change that.” But, Dallen has learned – we all have learned – that small voices count, that we don’t have to accept things the way they are, and that there are other people out there thinking the same thing.

This became his passion. This became something so important to him that he would read anything he could find about endangered animals, the rainforest, and company practices. He became a vegetarian. He began reading the labels on all the products we purchased to see if the were practicing earth-friendly harvesting, processing, and packaging techniques. Most companies that practice these techniques are very proud of that fact and will write it on the packaging. This led us to incorporate more organic foods into our life and to look at things like laundry detergent and toilet paper to see what we were giving back to the Earth and to our bodies. It has impacted our life in a great way. And it all started with an interest in animals and their habitats. I would have never been able to predict that his interest would have led us down that path. Of course, if I had stepped in and said, “Okay, you’ve been on the computer long enough,” or, “You are just a child. Why don’t we go play?” or if I had chosen to control him or decided not to mail his letters, we would not be in this great place we are today. It was only by giving him the freedom to explore his own interests and the help he needed in finding information that he was able to blossom and become such a powerful voice.

Dallen is currently working on a website for his animal passion. He wants to call it SEA – Saving Every Animal. He plans to list all the things that we can do, everyday, that will have a small impact on our ecosystem. He wants to link SEA to all his favorite websites.

He wants to amplify his voice!

Unschooling In The Carolinas is a group for unschoolers, with the goal of support, discussions, and get-togethers. We like to have fun with our kids and each other!

This is a social group for families who are currently unschooling, or homeschooling in a relaxed way and moving toward unschooling. Discussions about the joys and challenges of unschooling are welcome, as is information about interesting events. We would like this list to be free from curriculum discussion. We'd love for it to be a place to share our passions and interesting things we have enjoyed along the way.

It is understood that each family is at a different point in their journey. What we hope to share, is an active desire to move toward unschooling--to eliminate required subjects, assignments, and tests, and replace those with a stimulating, enriched environment, and a lot of parental support for kids in pursuing their interests and passions.

We welcome all ideas as we grow and define the group. We are currently thinking about Mom's Night Out (MNO), attending local functions as a group, outings and events, etc. But we would love more ideas about how to grow this community and support its members. Please refrain from political or religious postings, as these are intensely private beliefs.

Introduce your family, tell us about your journey, and experience an unschooling community first hand. Together, we can explore unschooling and all that the Carolinas have to offer, while being surrounded by families who trust that our children will learn everything they need to know through living their lives and following their passions.

We know there are unschoolers out there and we can't wait to connect!

Please feel welcome to invite your friends and family to join us! There is an "Invite" menu option at the top of the page.

Also, everyone is welcome to post events to the "Events" calendar (menu option at the top of the page). Indicate location of the event!

And folks can create "Groups" for discussions within specific locals. There is already a "Charlotte" group forming. Additionally, folks can post links, start discussions, or make inquiries about different unschooling issues in the "Forum".

Feel free to make "Blog" posts (left side-bar menu) about topics of interest, also.