Rethinking Education

Below is a summary of the panel discussions we will host this year.  Each panel is made up of RE conference participants with confidence, experience and insight to share with you. Each panel is sure to be diverse, thoughtful and will stimulate all sorts of new ways to rethink.

Would you like to sit on a panel and offer your insight?  If so, we'd love to hear from you.  Email Barb if one of the panels calls to you.  As a panelist, you will give the audience a short overview of your experience and overall view of the topic and then be ready to engage in wide-ranging discussion with audience on whatever issues are important to them.  We are looking for adults, young adults and teens!

Drugs, Alcohol & Teens:
Allowing, Letting Go & Trusting the Process... or not?
This hot topic panel always attracts a range of folks, from those who are extremely comfortable with their teens' ability to choose their behavior to those who are not - and the reasoning varies widely.  Also present are lots of teens and young adults with their own opinions and stories to share.  Note:  We are looking for TEENS and YOUNG ADULTS for this panel.

The Art of Living Dangerously
Most of us are aware of how critical risk-taking is as a path to self-directed, empowered living and education.  If you find yourself anxious or reluctant to give your child or teen the freedom to make their own (risky or dangerous) decisions, then you will benefit from the wisdom shared here.

Teenage Liberation: Unschooling Teens
The teen years can manifest a wide array of challenges for self and family.  Hormones, emotions, dating, alcohol and/or drug use, getting "serious" about education and life, this panel will help you with your doubts, fears and apprehensions as unschoolers.  All topics are welcome and the goal is to give you the courage to face your fears, support your teen in their dreams and drive to self-direct their own life.  Note:  Adults, teens and young adults are welcome on this panel.

Keeping Love Alive:
Sustaining a Long-Term Marriage or Partnership
Looking for ideas, strategies, 20/20 vision and wisdom on how to maneuver the dark times in your partnership or marriage?  Need help assessing what's worth fixing and what's not worth fussing about?  Our panel is made up of those who have weathered a good deal and come out thriving.

Rethinking Marriage, Rethinking Jealousy
What purpose does marriage serve, and who does it serve?  Does a modern partnership need this old fashioned institution?  Is commitment different than marriage? What about jealousy?  What's that all about and why are we putting so much energy into it?  Can we replace jealousy with self-ownership and empowerment and feel comfortable, confident and ready for anything?

The Kids are Alright
Kids are born with a natural ability to follow their hearts, ask for help when they need it and always move in the direction of what feels right, powerful and important to them.  This magnificent process often goes awry when the adults in a child's life mistakenly impose their own, often well-meaning, values and dictates on their child or teen's behavior - values and dictates that are products of their own dysfunctional or conformist training.  Our panel will share their own big mistakes with their kids and teens and how they overcame them, allowing the kids and teens to heal, learn and thrive.

I Love My Life: On My Own Terms
Meet some exciting, empowered examples of those who have created self-designed lives they love living!  They will share their ideas to help you do the same or support your child or teen in creating their own 'life worth living.'

My Unschooled View of the World 
What could your view of the world be like if you were unschooled?  What attitudes, beliefs and strategies would you have about learning, doing and being?

Join us for this discussion with a panel of unschooled young adults as we pick their brains and learn from their experiences how to live as if we are free and how best to support and empower the unschooling kids in our lives.

Discover what internal beliefs and external environment conditions best supported our panelists in growing, learning and becoming the amazing beings they are today.  What were their biggest challenges and what got them through, around and over their hurdles?  Bring your own questions and open mind.

At the end of our discussion, life coach Melissa Cantrelle will facilitate and NLP exercise where you will identify and integrate one empowering belief you would like to hold in your own life journey.  This closing exercise will leave you inspired and empowered to easily use your natural innate resources even more fully as the free being you are.  Note:  teens, young adults and adults who have been unschooled are welcome on this panel.

What We Eat
Everybody eats food.  What do you eat, and why do you eat it?  How is your food an integral part of your life, your health, your cultural traditions and your daily rituals?

In this panel discussion we'll uncover the many ways we can rethink food.  We'll discuss why the Standard American Diet (SAD) doesn't work, or does it?  We'll explore many perspectives on food, nutrition, diets, vitamins and all the ways we use food for health.  

Come with your questions and ideas about how to incorporate new approaches to food into your existing food rituals.  Example topics we may discussion include: omnivore vs. vegetarian/vegan, vitamin supplements, diets and losing weight, eating habits during pregnancy, food options while traveling, and local vs. organic vs. imported foods.  Be prepared to discover even more food options you might not have even considered!

Nothing but Sex
Got questions about anything sex related at all?  Want to just listen and sit in the back?  We'll have some very knowledgeable, open-minded and experienced folks  on this panel to offer help, wisdom or just plain facts.  Anyone with any hesitation about asking questions will be able to submit questions anonymously.