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The Art of Not Parenting

The Art of Not Parenting

Parenting: a crossroads many of us find ourselves at eventually, somewhere between asserting control and giving our children the space they need to flourish. “Good parenting” –who’s to say what that even is? From developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik’s The...

Rethink Discipline; Transform Behaviour

Rethink Discipline; Transform Behaviour

The battle of wills between teacher and student, and even parent and child, is one that is age-old.  Beneath that brews a powerful shift in the way we understand the children in our care by leaning into a relinquishment of control.  We know–this is probably hard to...

Are We Creating Robotic Children?

Are We Creating Robotic Children?

The answer is invariably: yes.  Psychologist and Harvard professor Rebecca Rolland recently shed light on this issue–suggesting that the absence of genuine connections, caused by a lack of parental cultivation and the imposition of unrealistic standards, is shaping...

Breaking Barriers Through (Truly) Inclusive Education

Breaking Barriers Through (Truly) Inclusive Education

We’ve been no strangers to the fight to legitimise the idea of ‘inclusivity’ in the Singaporean educational landscape and beyond, doing so right from within our doors at Imagine If.  We have always emphasised that when we say inclusive, we mean it. The conversations...

A Look Through The Lens of a Child

A Look Through The Lens of a Child

As a society, we often examine a child's behaviour from a very limited perspective.  If we were being honest and introspective with ourselves, how we take seriously the opinions of children themselves, let alone their ‘antics,’ can attest to this narrow-mindedness. ...

The Knowledge Machines of Our Time

The Knowledge Machines of Our Time

It's been over 30 years since Seymour Papert's article, "Obsolete Skill Set: The 3 R's, Literacy, and Letteracy in the Media Ages," was published, and his words are more relevant than ever.  With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), society is undergoing a...

The Necessary Allyship of Trustful Educators

The Necessary Allyship of Trustful Educators

Peter Gray, on trustful parenting, offers an exploration of a parenting philosophy that emphasises trust, respect, and collaboration between parents and children. At the heart of this philosophy is the belief that children are naturally curious and capable of taking...

The Misnomer of ‘School Refusal’

The Misnomer of ‘School Refusal’

The topic of mental health is inextricable from the subject of the schooling system – this will sound familiar to you if you’ve followed us for any length of time. A recent article in The Straits Times recounts a parent’s struggle with their child’s ‘school refusal’...

Reclaiming Resilience

Reclaiming Resilience

You don't create resilience in children by throwing them in the deep end at school and forcing them to cope. That's how you create resentment. That's like sending the average person into the gym to lift 100 kg and saying that if they just do enough mindfulness, think...

“Inclusion is not tolerance. It is unquestioned acceptance.”

“Inclusion is not tolerance. It is unquestioned acceptance.”

Recently, I received a referral from the 'Head of Inclusion' of a large international school about taking in a child that the school cannot include. Needless to say, right away, this seemed rather contradictory to the principle of inclusion. After this, I received...