Episode 69: Raising Free People w/ Akilah Richards

LISTEN HERE

Akilah Richards is a writer, unschooling organizer, and host of the Raising Free People podcast. In this episode, she shares why she decided to embark on the unschooling journey, what it means to trust our children, and how our children deserve to always be themselves. We have so much to learn from Akilah and her community. I’m honored to have her as our guest!

Show Highlights:

• How to strike a balance when children are all of a sudden put into a situation where they are no longer going to school. 
• Thoughts on how to become a better listener to our children.
• What it means to trust our children truly and what it looks like in the context of parenting.
• We don’t need to be the resource. Instead, be good at listening and asking the questions.
• Our parents didn’t mean respect. They meant obedience. It’s easy to see how some of us are continuing those cycles of oppression.
• Akilah’s shares her experience as a person and family of color in the unschooling space.
• We have a brief discussion on whitewashing and how it is in all kinds of forms because whether it’s in your home or not when you step out into a classroom, you are also subjected to that in a different format, even when it’s with amazing teachers.
• The importance of being very deliberate ‘intentional, and consistent about questioning the narrative and whiteness status quo.