Archive for October, 2022

Brave Learner Home: The Myth of Rigor and Requirements

Brave Learner Home

Sometimes when homeschooling, I thought I wasn’t doing enough.

Somewhere along the way, I had acquired the belief: rigor is the key to learning.

Do you think like this? A rigorous education means being prepared for the next step in life, whether it’s middle school, high school, or college?

Yet at the same time, I also wanted to keep joy alive. 

I’ve got good news for you: 

It’s possible to have a rich, requirement-meeting, joy-filled homeschool!

Rigor? Not necessary.

Join us in Brave Learner Home and check out the webinar, The Myth of Rigor and Requirements in Homeschool.

You’ll get practical steps you can implement right away!

Brave Learner Home

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Friday Freewrite: Feel Better

Friday Freewrite

If you have a difficult day, describe what you do to help yourself feel better.

New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.

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Podcast: Raising Kids When You Question Your Faith with Bekah McNeel

Brave Writer Podcast

Content warning: In today’s podcast, we deal with topics of evangelical Christianity and parenting in the United States. While this conversation may be welcoming for some, it could be triggering for others. Despite any personal views expressed by myself or our guest Bekah McNeel, know that Brave Writer is a non-sectarian company that happily celebrates and includes members who hold a wide variety of worldviews, religious beliefs, non-religious beliefs, backgrounds, and political perspectives.

Bekah McNeel is the author of Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down: A Guide for Parents Questioning Their Faith. She’s a native of San Antonio, Texas where she’s been a reporter for nine years. Her work has appeared in Christianity Today, The Public Justice Review, Christian Science Monitor, Texas Tribune, and numerous other outlets. She’s a graduate of the London School of Economics where she earned an MSC in Media Studies. She’s also a wife and mother of two very busy boys.

Here’s what you can expect in this episode:

  • Why has Christianity fallen for Millennials and what role do their parents play in that?
  • Should children be baptized as a baby or only when they are old enough to consent?
  • Why does Christianity push us to rely on authority figures—and why do many who leave the church never learn to shed that reliance?

I know this is a difficult topic for many people. Whether you grew up religious and found yourself drifting away from the church, or you are still devoted and find it painful to hear these stories, know that the end goal here is for all of us to be able to move forward together.

Show Notes

Why are Millennials leaving the church in droves?

As our understanding and acceptance of trauma and mental health increases, more and more of us are finding therapy an essential part of adult life. There, we begin to unpack the messages we picked up from our family—whether explicit or intentional. For many of us, the language we saw around religion was the same as the language used by politicians, commercials, and other arms of the culture wars to manipulate us. And when we start to ask questions, we only get pushed further away. Ultimately, at a time when many wanted to be affirmed, they were instead exiled.

The over-reliance on authority figures

One of the overarching themes in Bekah’s book is how Christianity teaches its theology through a religious, spiritual authority figure. Rather than allowing people to see themselves as part of the spirit and be validated in making their own decisions, it trained them to look for an external authority to tell them what to do. Not only has this led to a generation of people who can no longer make decisions for themselves, but it gives an excess amount of power to whoever holds those positions of authority.

Being more inclusive, regardless of beliefs

While understanding trauma is a great thing, it’s only the first step in a process—one that we’re not taught what comes next. It can feel great to cut toxic people out of our lives, but that’s not what leads to healing. How do we learn to bring people back to the table instead of constantly cutting them out?

First, we have to recognize the difference between animosity and apathy. Some beliefs will fundamentally make peace impossible, such as believing a certain race or skin color makes someone inferior. But someone not believing—or understanding—how systems in our country disadvantage some people and advantage others is something that can be approached with grace, patience, and deep discussions.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Brave Writer Podcast

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Requirements for Critical Thinkers

Brave Writer

Critical thinking grows in an emotionally stable, supportive environment, where real problems are explored by teacher and student together.

When I hear “critical thinking,” I think of criticism—getting judged, graded, or challenged.

It took some time, but one day I heard the term “critical” differently:

  • Critical, as in “crucial”
  • Critical, as in “essential”
  • Critical, as in the “fulcrum” of the issue

Critical thinking is about exploring all the essential elements of a topic—identifying what’s at stake, what’s crucial to take into account. Critical thinking means that the issue merits discussion and exploration.

What research demonstrates is that we lose our powers to think critically when we are under duress. If we feel pressure, if our community threatens us with rejection, if we’re being graded, or someone is yelling, we can’t think critically.

We pick a side that ushers us into safety. Have you ever been in a fight with someone you love only to capitulate to stop the verbal assault? That’s not critical thinking. That’s self-protection.

It’s also not critical thinking if we spend energy agreeing with ourselves—excluding information that doesn’t align with our well-settled ideas and beliefs. The concept is not up for review or investigation. Rather, information, facts, and data are rounded up to reinforce the belief.

I’m not here to criticize the role of apologetics (you conduct an apologetic every time you explain to a child why they need to eat vegetables and take baths against their will).

Rather, to be a critical thinker requires a couple of things:

  1. A supportive, emotionally safe environment
  2. A partner who is an ally, not an antagonist

That’s it!

And this is why I loved writing Raising Critical Thinkers. I think it will help all of us.

Raising Critical Thinkers

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Friday Freewrite: Furniture

Friday Freewrite

Assign personality traits to different pieces of furniture around your house.

New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.

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