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🐴 Are we making our kids more anxious by keeping them "safe"?
The definition of anxiety is thinking there will be something scary that you won't be able to deal with." Lenore Skenazy on why overprotection might be the real danger. Plus: How hybrid homeschool communities are reimagining education.
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IN THIS EDITION:
🍎 When the line between learning and living disappears
🍎 How overprotection creates the very anxiety we're trying to prevent
🍎 Build your own learning community with this 5-step startup guide
💡 THOUGHT
WHEN LEARNING AND LIFE BECOME ONE
"We really don't do learning and life as two separate things. It's just all together."
Cassie Tinsmon, founder of Lily Lake Homeschool Collective in Kansas, is dismantling artificial boundaries between "learning time" and "everything else."
📊 TREND
THE DANGERS OF OVERPROTECTION
"The definition of anxiety is thinking that there will be something scary and horrible that you won't be able to deal with."
Lenore Skenazy, founder of the Free-Range Kids movement, points out the central paradox of modern parenting: in trying to protect kids from every possible harm, we often create the very anxiety we hope to prevent.
"We have a society dedicated to making sure children won't have to deal with anything scary," Skenazy explains. "What they're not getting is the opportunity to face little problems along the way and realize 'oh that wasn't so bad.'"
We're seeing the consequences of well-intentioned overprotection far beyond childhood. College counselors report skyrocketing anxiety rates among students who've never learned to navigate uncertainty independently, and employers encounter young adults unable to handle basic workplace conflicts.
The most powerful protection we can give our children is to equip them to handle struggles confidently when they arise.
🛠️ TOOL
COMMUNITY AS CURRICULUM: THE 5-STEP STARTUP GUIDE
When Cassie Tinsmon watched her daughter's learning transform in the company of peers, she discovered that learning is fundamentally social.
"I watched how her curiosity changed when other kids were around. She engaged a lot more."
Humans are wired to learn through social connection, mimicry, and collaborative problem-solving. It's why her homeschool collective builds learning around interactive "spark sessions" instead of isolated workbooks.
Want to harness this power without building an entire school? Here's a 5-step startup plan:
1. Recruit your minimum viable community Find 2-3 families with complementary strengths and compatible values. You don't need an army—just enough diversity of perspective to create what Cassie calls "spark."
2. Establish a consistent rhythm Weekly is ideal, but bi-weekly works too. Consistency matters more than frequency. Pick a day and time and protect it religiously.
3. Share the load through rotation Take turns planning, teaching, and hosting. This prevents burnout and leverages each parent's unique expertise.
4. Start with integrative themes Choose topics that naturally connect multiple subjects. Cassie's example: basketball incorporates math, design, writing, and physical education without artificial divisions.
5. Balance structure with freedom Intentional activities provide focus, but leave ample room for the magic that happens when curious minds interact without constant adult direction.
The payoff? Children who learn from diverse perspectives, parents who share the educational load, and a support network that makes the homeschool journey sustainable.
That’s all for today! See you tomorrow.
– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)
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