Forced Instruction Is Wrong

I personally think that imposed, forced instruction is wrong. When I do things on my own, I do them so naturally almost without thinking. But as soon as I'm given instruction on how I'm "supposed to" do something, I stop being able to do it on my own. When my Mom first took me out driving most of it came so naturally. But as soon as I was in Driver's Ed, my mind had to be focused on all of these little rules... I felt like I lost all of my natural ability. When I was little that's how it was with my art (I was in public school before my Mom adopted me). I was suddenly being told that there is such thing as "wrong" art, there's such thing as a "wrong" way to draw. I lost all of my ability to just draw... It's taken me all this time while unschooling to get my natural ability back, mostly thanks to my Mom who is an artist...

How Am I Going to Use This in My Life?

At the beginning of my unschooling year I decided to use an Algebra II DVD to meet my state's math requirements. Who knew that you could get so exhausted by one drudgerous math lesson! Today I "learned" how to use "fractional exponents". All the while I couldn't figure out how I was ever going to use this in my life.

Normally after I've completed a music lesson or researched something I want to learn, I feel energized by what I've accomplished; after this math lesson, I only feel exhausted and like I wasted a 1/2 hour of my life. Does anyone else see a problem with this? I don't know how school kids stand it doing monotonous, useless, draining paperwork day in and day out for hours at a time. I could barely handle a 1/2 hour of it... Thank God I'm an unschooler!

Homeschoolers Should Live and Learn Freely

I am a human being and I have feelings and thoughts. I am not some underling of society. As an unschooler, I feel that I should not have to perform for the State with their homeschool requirements; for what they consider education. How certain subjects are expected to be learned is less than relevant to my life and yet I find that I waste precious time of my life on these requirements when I could be enacting my dreams and passions.
I find it ironic that in the very state where its slogan is “Live free or die”, our youngest citizens are confined to a dark mockery of education. I’m referring to public school or any “educational requirements” put onto children who are unschooling or homeschooling. This most certainly is not following our state slogan, “Live free or die”. Shouldn’t it trouble you that this is the case? I can hear the responses now: “Children should be in school” or “These homeschoolers need regulations.” I disagree very strongly. Children should be free in all aspects, the way nature intended, whereas public schools and homeschool requirements are an imprisoning box of mediocrity.

As an unschooling family, my Mom and I are free-spirited, free-thinking people and the State homeschooling requirements are only a source of anxiety and annoyance. Unschooling is living and learning the way children have always learned and lived in nature-based societies. It’s being in harmony with our family and community. Unfortunately, due to residing within our out-of-touch culture, we are still forced to pamper and satisfy the requirements of the system. That is not living freely.

I don’t think I should have to meet prescribed requirements because I am busy living my life to the fullest right now. I am so far ahead of the State requirements that I feel held down and held back by being forced to demonstrate subjects in a way that is completely irrelevant to my life. I’m not internally motivated to meet a standard that’s given to the mass population but does not meet my needs as an individual. What right do people who haven’t met me have to impose these standards on me?

I’m sitting here crafting, building and creating the pieces of my life that are relevant to me. As a musician and song writer, my music takes up an enormous portion of my time because I want it to– because its my passion. When I have to stop living in order to please the State, I don’t feel good about it. It doesn’t feel right. Why should I have to stop living because you tell me I have to prepare for a future that I am living now? I’ve released my first CD at 17 years old, now. I perform my music now. I’ve written a book which is in the editing stage now. I’ve been interviewed for a movie now. I do children’s rights work now. I’ve booked myself on the radio, now. I’m part of NH Media Makers now. I started a club and ran my own business from ages 12-15. I’ve been speaking to the public full of professionals since I was 12. I can’t count how many times I’ve been in the newspaper for my community activism, now. I like to bike, socialize with friends, make chain mail, calculate dice probabilities, invent games, build forts, cook, play Dungeons and Dragons and I have a close relationship with my Mom, all now. I am writing this to New Hampshire now; I’m not waiting around for the future!

-Brycen R. R. Couture, age 17

(This was printed in the April 26, 2011 Foster’s Daily Democrat as a Letter to the Editor)

My Aspirations for a More Peaceful World

I want to live life to the fullest. I want to grow in spiritual maturity and lend a hand in healing the world. When I am able, I want to be a paternal figure to any child that seeks comfort and guidance. I want to make music that will allow cavalier ears to open to the voices of children. I want to be as loving, kind and selfless as I can be to my family and friends- I include you. I want to practice peace in ways that would make my heroes proud. I want to contribute such goodness and purity to the world, that the Earth would literally glow with love. What do you want?

        -Brycen

Obama Showed An Alarming Ignorance on Education Reform

I'm actually pretty freaked out by what Obama was saying on his interview regarding "Education Reform". Obama showed a striking ignorance to the needs of children, instead focusing on score and statistics. One third of kids do not graduate: one third of kids are not college ready by the end of the year: one third of kids actually drop out; 35% of 12th graders are not proficient in reading. Obama says that there is nothing more important than the issue of education, but his approach to how to make education effective is completely out dated.

Of course, child-centered learning, such as unschooling are the real answers. Not to mention, who gives a crap what our test scores are! Are our children happy? In regards to what Obama thinks the should do about "eduction", he said, "Your job right now, kid, is to learn; and I'm gonna to check with your teachers and I'm gonna make sure your doing your homework and you're not doing anything else until you've done your homework." Is that creepy, or what???! Notice that there is nothing in his sentence that actually shows any caring to the needs of children. Obama also said, "I think we should have longer school years" and "I think that would be money well spent." To the contrary, I believe that forced schooling needs to be abolished!

Obama repeatedly stated that we needed higher standards and kept saying things that implied that teachers were the main issue.

He said that when we put more money into schooling, performance went down- obviously, standardized tests are not the answer! Obama said radical change was needed- I agree... If he means making the system child-centered, or better yet, take the system out out and have parents be responsible for their own children's parenting and educating- like when the literacy rate was higher in Massachusetts in the 1700's, before compulsory schooling!

Obama puts inordinate amounts of focus on teachers, as if teachers are the main issue! Yes, I agree, the damage done to children by schools is a responsibility shared by those teachers who are punitive and rigid or even out rightly abusive.

Obama also focuses too strongly on math and science as the fundamental subjects that are the most important, when there are several other learning styles that need to be acknowledged. Howard Gardener's other learning styles need to be acknowledged.

My emotions concerning this topic are fear, indignation, frustration, rye amusement and sadness.

True World Unity

I have this image in my mind of two people, a man and a woman, from opposite sides of the world, speaking to one another. They are both calm and I can't tell from sight where they are from, just that the man's skin is a rich sun-darkened tone, as if from a desert and the woman's skin appears bleached with the shade of a rain-forest. I see them sitting on a fallen tree trunk that makes a bridge over a gently running brook and the women is describing the brook to the man. Every detail is relayed with arm gestures, sounds, facial expressions, and the man understands every detail about the brook. Now the man can fully understand and appreciate every aspect of the brook.

In "the real world" we do not communicate anywhere near this degree. If we did, think of how much more understanding there would be! If we could- or rather, if we did- communicate with each other this well and we developed an understanding of the beauty all around us, then I don't think we would be so quick to take the world for granted. We would also develop a close kinship with all of the people in the world and we would not war with anyone. It's hard to kill someone who you just described why the sun is beautiful to you. I'm picturing that whenever you spoke to someone, it is a deeply intimate exchange, where you both speak from your innermost soul. You now know each other so deeply and affectionately, that you can wish nothing but peace for the other person. You love this person deeply and they return the same feelings- nothing else matters, except that you had this exchange. Please envision every encounter you have as being like this. How wonderful is the vision!

True world unity!

-Brycen R. R. Couture

World Peace by Ending School

Picture a village. Picture all of the people in the village as sick. To you it seems that they have been poisoned. One day you decide to go with them when they go out to get water. when you arrive, you see a sickly green slime coating the water. The people act as if the slime isn't there and they bend down to fill their jugs. You're astonished! "You aren't going to drink that, are you?!" you ask, shocked. "Drink what?" one of the people reply. They are looking at you with a confused expression that seems to accent their sickness. "That awful green slime!" you exclaim. The villager looks mystified and asks you, "What green slime?"

I compare this story with how our culture tries so very hard to keep us asleep and indifferent to what goes on around us. The stereo-typical day in the life for a child between the ages of 5 and 18 (roughly) consists of waking up very early and going to prison (school) for six hours. While you're there, you are expected to put your full attention on being indoctrinated on some uninteresting subject. (If it could be interesting, than it is made sure that it is not) Several times during the day, a loud, annoying bell rings, dictating that now you have to move to another holding cell (classroom) and focus on another subject. Finally the last bell rings and you are allowed to go home. Does it end there? No. Now it's time to review what the prison (school) indoctrinated you with that day. This could take a while. If you finish in time, then you get to enjoy having your face stuck to a screen, providing you with an escape from life. Maybe your screen connects to some of your friends screens and you can talk about things that don't make you use your head. Another type of screen depicts many series of rapidly changing images. This screen provides hours of mindlessness and lots of incentives to buy things that are said to make your life complete. After all of this wonderfully mindless "screen-time" -and it is wonderful, isn't it, to be allowed to escape life's meaninglessness?- you'll go to bed and fall asleep until tomorrow makes you wake up and repeat yesterday.

Now wouldn't it be interesting if all of the prisoners (students) decided to take control of their lives- for those who are too young, their parents would have to help them- and they all just went out into the community and started following their passions. The kids who want to play music would play music. The kids who want to build would build. All of the kids would realize how fun life really was- then there are too many other good things that would happen to list.

As for the faculty of these schools and their jobs- the government's mistake for instituting the prison (school) in the first place. The government would provide funds for all of the faculty who are now out of a job. This would help all of these people to enjoy life as well and communities would flourish with happy people.

Now that people don't feel so empty as to make useless purchases, it would be necessary to eradicate the use of money. We would go back to bartering. This kind of unity and wholeness in our communities would spread to the entire world, because it would be so joyful. We would all be respectful and loving of one another...

"And the world will live as one..." -John Lennon