Letters in issue 7

Love Notes
I’ve immersed myself in byronchild these past couple of days and have come up for air — impressed with the richness of its content. The articles are written by people who are passionate about their subject and the presentation is pleasing to the eye. The photographs are a gallery in themselves. Thank you for this stimulating publication. I love the thought of being part of your team. It is everything that SSHED (Stepping Stones for Home Educators magazine) is but on a much broader band of conscious parenting. SSHED is specifically for parents who choose to take an active role in their children’s/family’s education — with or without schooling.

Grace Chapman
Editor of Stepping Stones for Home Educators (SSHED), Australia


What an inspiration your magazine is. It’s encouraging to read about people who care deeply about parenting, relationships and all that goes with that. Thank you for being prepared to explore and explain other types of parenting other than the supposedly ‘norm’.

Samantha Sutherland
Victoria


Grateful…that’s what I feel deeply only after reading the editorial and thumbing through the March-June edition of byronchild. Your words from your great heart and the very spiritual and useful content is just too beautiful. 

Hilla Richards
Elanora, Queensland.


Thanks for putting together such a brilliant magazine. It is so refreshing to see a magazine that explores the serious issues of raising kids based on what is best for them and not what the ‘experts’ say is best for them (usually at the profit of corporation).

Michelle Carnochan
New South Wales


The importance of creativity
With regards to June’s article Heaven on Earth, a new vision of teaching and learning. As much as I enjoyed this article and think it covered many important aspects and approaches for schooling, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of information on the importance of children and their creativity.

As a child that tried everything from music and dance to sport at a very young age, I never followed through with a love for something or a feeling of talent in anything that I participated in.  I think this is the case with many children. By their teens if they don’t have a talent in the obvious areas of schooling such as sport and visual art, they can live their adolescent lives just believing and accepting the idea that they are not creative...as I did.

The majority of the human race spend their lives trying to control when and where change occurs in their lives in hope of achieving stability in their external environments rather than stability within themselves.  I believe creativity can come in aid of this constant exhausting cycle as it a constant motion of new ideas, experiments and challenges, therefore making it impossible to obtain creativity and a complete fear and resistance of change in the one human psyche.

On a simpler note our creativity helps every human being with self-esteem...for eg, being praised for something you do well not only allows you to see others accept your individuality but allows you to accept your own individuality. We are all aware that our own creativity gives us a feeling of individuality and strength and if these two qualities can be attributes of our children from the beginning then we can almost assure that they will grow up o.k.

So that children are not limited to what is offered in schools, primary and secondary, and really have a chance at finding something they love and are good at, different types of classes for youth such as drawing, knitting, cultural dance, singing etc should be advertised and information available for parents so that they can be aware of the different types of activities that exist in the world and educate this to their children.

Finally, if all else fails parents need to tell their children how creative they already are. Let’s face it, low self-esteem, resistance to change can stem from many places, but why not try to eliminate as many as possible whilst we can in our children before these issues dig deeper and upset our whole foundation.

Rebecca Mount
Victoria