Lance is interested in education beyond schooling. Some call it unschooling, but there are those who refer to it as education in life for life. He is also interested in deschooling, the process of purging from the consciousness that schooling is necessary to receive an education. Phone: 0427 035 594 Address: Unit 46 / 16 McGuire Cct, Moulden, NT 0830
It is undeniable that the majority of Australian Indigenous students (particularly from language-... more It is undeniable that the majority of Australian Indigenous students (particularly from language-speaking, tradition-oriented nations) have been failed educationally, in the attempt to school them in a Western way. I spent five years among the Warlpiri of the Central Desert Region of the Northern Territory, Australia. In the beginning I advocated total assimilation as the answer to Indigenous problems. However, I came to recognize that the real problem is Westerners not making the effort to properly understand the values underlying traditional culture and the echoes of the Kingdom of God in those values. This realization caused me to make a radical change in my perspective, and to embrace a more empathetic way of delivering education to Warlpiri young people. This is my "learning journey" -- a recommendation that educators employ the pedagogy of Warlpiri business, in the delivery of mainstream education. These lessons, if applied to educational delivery, would make Warlpir...
God doesn't want you to send your children to school: He wants them to have an education, 2017
This text is a significant re-write of the dissertation posted on this site. It has material that... more This text is a significant re-write of the dissertation posted on this site. It has material that was posted separately to the dissertation included, and has appendices removed that are considered no longer essential to the argument being made. The main thesis of the text is that, despite popular opinion, schooling and education are not synonymous. It is possible for children to attend school and not received an education. On the other hand, many children who do not attend school receive a comprehensive, liberal education. This contention is supported by the Biblical texts.
Sub-themes explored in the work include:
1. All schools that receive civil government funding are required to deliver schooling according to politically correct strictures, to ensure accountability to the public for receiving public funds. So-called Christian schools that receive civil government funding are therefore not Christian schools, but rather government schools with Bible to the side.
2. Under the umbrella of home-based education there is a continuum from homeschooling, to unschooling and through to radical unschooling. Although the author is understanding of the homeschooling and radical unschooling extremes, the preference is for unschooling with a discipleship emphasis. This is the mode of educational delivery most consistently supported by the Biblical texts.
3. Schools exhibit all the characteristics of total institutions, and as such look and feel like prisons, mental institutions, military establishments, religious cults and concentration camps. A very large number of children who are forced to attend schools because of Secular, Free and Compulsory laws are wounded by schools and the schooling process, and that wounding continues to the end of their lives. The only children who really thrive in the school context are those who later become a part of the schooling industry. In that sense, schools are self-perpetuating institutions.
4. Deschooling is a critical process for families to embrace to remove from the psyche the false notion that schooling is required for an education. It is just not true that schools are required at all. The argument that schools are necessary for socialisation, is the Marxist doctrine that compulsory, government-funded schools are necessary for the spread of International Communism. Schools are necessary for creating socialists, not for socialisation.
Ivan Illich published Deschooling Society in 1970. The concept of deschooling has moved on from ... more Ivan Illich published Deschooling Society in 1970. The concept of deschooling has moved on from Illich’s initial definition. However, many of the ideas in his book are worth revisiting. This is a compilation of personal responses to quotes taken from Illich’s ground-breaking work. This is not an academic piece with footnoting and a bibliography. It is reflective, making comments on the implications of what Illich proposed back in 1970. Many of the ideas have been fleshed out, and they are being applied to real educational contexts. However, I hope that some of these reflections are helpful to some people newly discovering the work of Ivan Illich. In his latter years Illich lost favour with many of his earlier followers. Be that as it may, many of his earlier idea were good ideas, and deserve to be revisited from time-to-time.
Previously published, co-authored paper that looks at the inter-relatedness of the fundamental el... more Previously published, co-authored paper that looks at the inter-relatedness of the fundamental elements of a Warlpiri world and life view.
These are the transcripts of conversations had with home-based educators and homeschooled graduat... more These are the transcripts of conversations had with home-based educators and homeschooled graduates. Several topics were identifiable across the conversations: 1. a definition of education; 2. the perceived deficits to attending a state school; 3. some perceived benefits from attending a state school; 4. family and social roles as they relate to home-based education; 5. the prerequisites to taking on home-based education; 6. concerns that surround home-based education; 7. the benefits of home-based education; and 8. education approaches.
There are no identifying elements in the conversations; the participants chose to remain anonymous.
It is undeniable that the majority of Australian Indigenous students (particularly from language-... more It is undeniable that the majority of Australian Indigenous students (particularly from language-speaking, tradition-oriented nations) have been failed educationally, in the attempt to school them in a Western way. I spent five years among the Warlpiri of the Central Desert Region of the Northern Territory, Australia. In the beginning I advocated total assimilation as the answer to Indigenous problems. However, I came to recognize that the real problem is Westerners not making the effort to properly understand the values underlying traditional culture and the echoes of the Kingdom of God in those values. This realization caused me to make a radical change in my perspective, and to embrace a more empathetic way of delivering education to Warlpiri young people. This is my "learning journey" -- a recommendation that educators employ the pedagogy of Warlpiri business, in the delivery of mainstream education. These lessons, if applied to educational delivery, would make Warlpir...
God doesn't want you to send your children to school: He wants them to have an education, 2017
This text is a significant re-write of the dissertation posted on this site. It has material that... more This text is a significant re-write of the dissertation posted on this site. It has material that was posted separately to the dissertation included, and has appendices removed that are considered no longer essential to the argument being made. The main thesis of the text is that, despite popular opinion, schooling and education are not synonymous. It is possible for children to attend school and not received an education. On the other hand, many children who do not attend school receive a comprehensive, liberal education. This contention is supported by the Biblical texts.
Sub-themes explored in the work include:
1. All schools that receive civil government funding are required to deliver schooling according to politically correct strictures, to ensure accountability to the public for receiving public funds. So-called Christian schools that receive civil government funding are therefore not Christian schools, but rather government schools with Bible to the side.
2. Under the umbrella of home-based education there is a continuum from homeschooling, to unschooling and through to radical unschooling. Although the author is understanding of the homeschooling and radical unschooling extremes, the preference is for unschooling with a discipleship emphasis. This is the mode of educational delivery most consistently supported by the Biblical texts.
3. Schools exhibit all the characteristics of total institutions, and as such look and feel like prisons, mental institutions, military establishments, religious cults and concentration camps. A very large number of children who are forced to attend schools because of Secular, Free and Compulsory laws are wounded by schools and the schooling process, and that wounding continues to the end of their lives. The only children who really thrive in the school context are those who later become a part of the schooling industry. In that sense, schools are self-perpetuating institutions.
4. Deschooling is a critical process for families to embrace to remove from the psyche the false notion that schooling is required for an education. It is just not true that schools are required at all. The argument that schools are necessary for socialisation, is the Marxist doctrine that compulsory, government-funded schools are necessary for the spread of International Communism. Schools are necessary for creating socialists, not for socialisation.
Ivan Illich published Deschooling Society in 1970. The concept of deschooling has moved on from ... more Ivan Illich published Deschooling Society in 1970. The concept of deschooling has moved on from Illich’s initial definition. However, many of the ideas in his book are worth revisiting. This is a compilation of personal responses to quotes taken from Illich’s ground-breaking work. This is not an academic piece with footnoting and a bibliography. It is reflective, making comments on the implications of what Illich proposed back in 1970. Many of the ideas have been fleshed out, and they are being applied to real educational contexts. However, I hope that some of these reflections are helpful to some people newly discovering the work of Ivan Illich. In his latter years Illich lost favour with many of his earlier followers. Be that as it may, many of his earlier idea were good ideas, and deserve to be revisited from time-to-time.
Previously published, co-authored paper that looks at the inter-relatedness of the fundamental el... more Previously published, co-authored paper that looks at the inter-relatedness of the fundamental elements of a Warlpiri world and life view.
These are the transcripts of conversations had with home-based educators and homeschooled graduat... more These are the transcripts of conversations had with home-based educators and homeschooled graduates. Several topics were identifiable across the conversations: 1. a definition of education; 2. the perceived deficits to attending a state school; 3. some perceived benefits from attending a state school; 4. family and social roles as they relate to home-based education; 5. the prerequisites to taking on home-based education; 6. concerns that surround home-based education; 7. the benefits of home-based education; and 8. education approaches.
There are no identifying elements in the conversations; the participants chose to remain anonymous.
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Papers by Dr Lance A Box
Sub-themes explored in the work include:
1. All schools that receive civil government funding are required to deliver schooling according to politically correct strictures, to ensure accountability to the public for receiving public funds. So-called Christian schools that receive civil government funding are therefore not Christian schools, but rather government schools with Bible to the side.
2. Under the umbrella of home-based education there is a continuum from homeschooling, to unschooling and through to radical unschooling. Although the author is understanding of the homeschooling and radical unschooling extremes, the preference is for unschooling with a discipleship emphasis. This is the mode of educational delivery most consistently supported by the Biblical texts.
3. Schools exhibit all the characteristics of total institutions, and as such look and feel like prisons, mental institutions, military establishments, religious cults and concentration camps. A very large number of children who are forced to attend schools because of Secular, Free and Compulsory laws are wounded by schools and the schooling process, and that wounding continues to the end of their lives. The only children who really thrive in the school context are those who later become a part of the schooling industry. In that sense, schools are self-perpetuating institutions.
4. Deschooling is a critical process for families to embrace to remove from the psyche the false notion that schooling is required for an education. It is just not true that schools are required at all. The argument that schools are necessary for socialisation, is the Marxist doctrine that compulsory, government-funded schools are necessary for the spread of International Communism. Schools are necessary for creating socialists, not for socialisation.
Drafts by Dr Lance A Box
1. a definition of education;
2. the perceived deficits to attending a state school;
3. some perceived benefits from attending a state school;
4. family and social roles as they relate to home-based education;
5. the prerequisites to taking on home-based education;
6. concerns that surround home-based education;
7. the benefits of home-based education; and
8. education approaches.
There are no identifying elements in the conversations; the participants chose to remain anonymous.
Sub-themes explored in the work include:
1. All schools that receive civil government funding are required to deliver schooling according to politically correct strictures, to ensure accountability to the public for receiving public funds. So-called Christian schools that receive civil government funding are therefore not Christian schools, but rather government schools with Bible to the side.
2. Under the umbrella of home-based education there is a continuum from homeschooling, to unschooling and through to radical unschooling. Although the author is understanding of the homeschooling and radical unschooling extremes, the preference is for unschooling with a discipleship emphasis. This is the mode of educational delivery most consistently supported by the Biblical texts.
3. Schools exhibit all the characteristics of total institutions, and as such look and feel like prisons, mental institutions, military establishments, religious cults and concentration camps. A very large number of children who are forced to attend schools because of Secular, Free and Compulsory laws are wounded by schools and the schooling process, and that wounding continues to the end of their lives. The only children who really thrive in the school context are those who later become a part of the schooling industry. In that sense, schools are self-perpetuating institutions.
4. Deschooling is a critical process for families to embrace to remove from the psyche the false notion that schooling is required for an education. It is just not true that schools are required at all. The argument that schools are necessary for socialisation, is the Marxist doctrine that compulsory, government-funded schools are necessary for the spread of International Communism. Schools are necessary for creating socialists, not for socialisation.
1. a definition of education;
2. the perceived deficits to attending a state school;
3. some perceived benefits from attending a state school;
4. family and social roles as they relate to home-based education;
5. the prerequisites to taking on home-based education;
6. concerns that surround home-based education;
7. the benefits of home-based education; and
8. education approaches.
There are no identifying elements in the conversations; the participants chose to remain anonymous.