Revitalizing our faith in universal education. These are inegalitarian times. I am not referring to the socio-economic meaning of the term, although the steepening of the social gradient, as Wilkinson and Picket show in their new book, The Inner Level, is...
In Self-Reg, we want to have it both ways: preserve Liberty as a birthright and ensure that everyone can become free. If the price of Democracy is that certain individuals, businesses, or political actors are allowed to influence...
Even if you feel strongly that Liberty is an inalienable right – and as we saw in Democracy is in Peril ~ Again, not everyone does – the same cannot be said for freedom: at least, not in the philosophical sense adumbrated in Part 1. To be sure, in the political sense...
The new biopic of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, On the Basis of Sex, instantly provoked a heated controversy. In the trailer for the film, the young RBG (who is suing the government for sex discrimination) stands before a judge who admonishes her: “The word ‘woman’ does...
From self-control to self-regulation It amazes me that in this day and age, anyone could still believe that social status is genetically determined. If molecular biologists have taught us anything over the past century, it is that the stars really don’t determine our...
Authoritarianism feeds off the feelings of hopelessness that obdurate social problems produce. The despair that Democracy will never be able to overcome its failings; that the majority of the citizenry lack the fortitude to make society great. That if large sectors of...
The first step in any Self-Reg undertaking is to understand the conceptual distinctions that we are dealing with. In this case, we might begin with the democratic versus authoritarian view of strong society. According to the former, a strong society is one that...
If ever there was a time to heed Santayana’s warning, this is it. It is tempting to dismiss what is happening in the US today as an aberration. This might be true in some respects; in others, not. The end of the Cold War saw a surge of new Democracies. But if we...
The Future Lies in the Hands of Self-Reg Parents, Schools, and Communities I first started thinking about social justice and democracy when I was 16 years old. I had just attended a political rally where Pierre Elliot Trudeau talked about a Just Society: one in which...
The Self-Reg educator or parent seeks to understand, rather than manage a child’s behaviour. In effect, what is being reframed here is what it means to see the Kindergarten teacher as a professional and not a glorified...
Kindergarten marks a major transition in children’s lives: from being coddled infants to being treated as responsible individuals. They are students now, and as such they have to meet certain expectations, as noted in an article published on education.com: “He can...
The Different Kinds of “Why?” Parents of new babies are forever asking why. “Why is she crying? Is she hungry, wet, scared, lonely, bored?” Since we can’t just ask her, we put on our detective’s hat. We think back to previous occasions, experiment with...
This was originally an article in the Self-Reg Parenting Magazine Vol 1 Issue 2. Take a look at this picture and tell me whether there’s something in the duck’s bill: Now take a look at this picture and tell me whether there is something in the rabbit’s mouth: This...
This was originally an article in the Self-Reg Parenting Magazine Vol 1 Issue 2 Children have such different ways of responding to being over-stressed. Some get physically ill. Some get nervous and anxious. Some become manic and hyperactive. Some have...
Parents are forever asking us: “Can Self-Reg help me with my child’s challenging behaviours? Nothing I say or do seems to help.” Self-Reg will indeed make a difference—a huge one—in dealing with problems like explosive behaviour, aggression, defiance, tantrums,...
Self-regulation and your child’s health Calm, alert and learning: who wouldn’t want their child in that optimal state of mind. Naturally, your child’s overall health—both physical and mental—is a priority for you as a parent. And who would guess that a major influence...
Balance ⊢ Freedom I am still trying to understand the meaning of what we saw on the weekend of March 24, 2018: the March for our Lives. Teens around the world, rising up against – what exactly? The lack of gun control? Political apathy and cynicism? Insidious...
In some ways, Janus would be the perfect symbol for Self-Reg. Partly, because Janus was the god of beginnings and transitions; but mostly, because Janus’ two faces were supposed to represent looking to the future and looking to...