One Improved Unit

  • Addiction vs. Fascination
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on October 31, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). The word "addiction" is sorely overused in our society. Any time someone spends in an inordinate amount of time on something, those who are annoyed by it will call it an "addiction" and proceed to, in one way or another, shame the person. This seems foolish.

  • Prosperity: Maybe Not What I Thought It Meant
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on August 29, 2018 at 5:27 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). I've always thought of "prosperity" as having an abundance of material wealth, and that seems to be consistent with popular usage. However, my thinking here has been going through some changes lately.

  • White People Should Call Each Other “Nigga”
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on June 5, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). I'm a big believer in the idea that people give words their power. If "fuck" is said often by a three-year-old (which in my house, it is) then it loses its power. It's just a fun thing to say, and when used non-playfully, it just doesn't have as much bite. And isn't that a good thing? Don't we disarm pricks just a little bit by softening the meaning of the words they want to use against us?

  • The Deviousness of “Have To”
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on May 8, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). "Have to" is one of those phrases that I only began thinking critically about when we travelled further along our unschooling journey. A major theme in radical unschooling is the removal of rules and obligations, and replaced with principles and choices. "Have to" often implies unchosen obligations, and can be, but is not always, incompatible with respecting your children's autonomy and preferences.

  • She Spat, Then I Spat
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on April 5, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). My three-year-old is full of life and has a great, fresh sense of humor. Her favorite word, if you ask her, is "fuck!" She uses it quite often, much to the delight of myself and her older siblings. A few weeks ago, she started spitting. This doesn't seem uncommon for little kids. They eventually discover the process and she found some joy in it. So much so, that she thought she'd share it with me, and spit right on my face.

  • “Zombies” and the Uncanny Valley
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on March 31, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). Standing up or sitting down, holding something close to our faces, head slightly bowed, and not moving much for extended periods of time is a seemingly unnatural position for human beings to take. There's something not quite right about it. From their perspective, they are actively and purposefully engaged in reading or watching or playing, but from a third party's perspective, it's inhuman.

  • Try Not to Take it Personally
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on March 13, 2018 at 7:27 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). Sometimes people are angry or upset, and sometimes that anger is directed toward us. But it's not always the case that our actions inspired that anger. If we know that it did, recompense may be in order. If we are unsure, then stay calm and composed, and do some digging. Taking it personally is unhelpful, both to you and to them.

  • The Absence of Free Will: 7 Distasteful Implications
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on January 29, 2018 at 8:45 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). The irony in the free will debate is the seeming choice that its participants make to be included. And therein lies the first distasteful implication of the possibility that humans do not have free will: the choice we witness is a lie.

  • Unschooling Dads with Skyler Collins, an Interview
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on January 11, 2018 at 6:39 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). "Skyler is an unschooling dad of three children and is the editor of the book Unschooling Dads: Twenty-two Testimonials on Their Unconventional Approach to Education. It’s not often that we get to hear about unschooling from the dad’s perspective and I really love that you took the time and effort to pull this book together. I really enjoyed reading their perspectives."

  • Holding Parents Responsible
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on January 1, 2018 at 10:40 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). Here's a philosophical brain teaser for you: Should parents be held responsible for their children's actions? My culturally programmed answer to this question is, "Yes, because children can't be held responsible for their actions, they're too young to really know what they're doing, and since somebody should, why not the ones who are raising them?"

  • Their Favorite Kind of Misogyny
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on December 23, 2017 at 6:47 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). The preeminent marriage counsel I was given was in the form of two words: "Yes, dear." I was told that these two simple words would prevent and/or solve every conflict. Grandpa was only half-joking.

  • Limit Your Self-Censorship and Tell the World Your Truth
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on December 6, 2017 at 8:50 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). I am increasingly of the mind that people should self-censor less about the many opinions they hold. It shouldn't matter how radical or crazy or weird they are, too. Let every opinion find the light of day. How else can we learn about them, talk about them, discard them, or adopt them?

  • Be Brave Enough to Roar Your Truth!
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on November 29, 2017 at 6:48 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). Two songs in particular give me goosebumps when I consider their implications in the life of a voluntaryist: “Brave” by Sara Bareilles, and “Roar” by Katy Perry. Everybody should find the bravery to roar their truth to the world, in every way they can!

  • Should We Be Our Children’s Friend?
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on November 13, 2017 at 6:39 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). You always hear so-called parenting "experts" say something to the effect that, "parents are not their children's friend," and "children need their parents to be a parent, not a friend." Now that my commitment and focus is on raising my children peacefully and respectfully, I can say that this advice as absolutely bananas. Hear me out.

  • The Illogic in “The Needs of the Many…”
    by Skyler J. Collins (Editor) on October 26, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor). "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one)." This is always presented as a logical statement, and therefore cannot be argued against without committing logical fallacy. But I don't think that's true. Here's my attempt.

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