Naomi Fisher's book, Changing Our Minds, shows us why and how we can use other ways of living, learning and sharing knowledge with children besides the usual method: Sit down. Change is necessary and urgent - schooling is not fit for purpose and there are working exemplars of another way. When I entered the factory each morning, I first had to put on my uniform – white clogs, blue-and-white checked trousers, white apron and a white mob cap. It’s one of my favorite unschooling books that I have read and I’ll be revisiting this when I feel disconnected with my focus or struggle to remember some of the why.

What I did not expect is the power this would have in transforming my life and enabling me to release trauma I had been completely unaware I was not only carrying but inadvertently passing onto my children.If Dave didn’t think I was working fast enough, he would come and turn up the machine: thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-squirt.

Dr Fisher argues cogently yet quietly that education is not a standalone issue based on some esoteric science of learning and teaching but rather an expression of our relationships, identity, place in the world and, ultimately, humanity. Where there was no road map of how to navigate this, Naomi Fisher has written this crucial book that reflects very clearly what is going wrong for so many children in our education system and how to help them. We met to discuss it in Feb 2020, in a time when there were rumours about lockdown in Italy and a strange virus.Profiteroles came along the belt, I had to grab two, put them on the spikes, and – ‘thunk’ – the machine filled them with cream.

These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. It offers a real lens shift on the almost-universally accepted system of schooling, and what it means to learn, and it does so in a way that is compelling, evidence-based and balanced too.

Many people assume that the most stressful jobs are the ones at the top, the ones where you have the power to determine the future of thousands of employees, or to steer a company away from bankruptcy. I jotted down notes on my phone when an idea came to me, and wrote little pieces about seeing my children’s learning in action because I knew that otherwise I would forget. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Since we’ve been moving towards a more “unschooling” approach my son’s “behavioral issues” have improved significantly, the whole house is happier and more relaxed, and his natural inquisitiveness has blossomed.

Her writing has featured in The Psychologist , Tipping Points , The Green Parent , SEN Magazine , Juno and more. I had articles published in The Green Parent, Juno, SEN Magazine, the Margate Mercury, The Local, The Psychologist and probably more that I have forgotten. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin. I’m ND myself and naturally curious, so it was interesting to realize that I’ve always done what Naomi Fisher talks about- take my children’s questions seriously, follow their interests as much as possible, give them lots of opportunities to explore and play and go out into the community, etc.This was a great book to read if you are interested in children’s learning, the school system and thinking about alternatives to the usual path. We are socialised to believe that schooling is synonymous with education, but it’s only one approach. When I worked for Druckers, I could have been allowed to choose when I went on my break, or the speed I thought that the profiterole machine should be set at.