Lainie Liberti

How To Create A Strong Family Culture While World Schooling

As the world continues to evolve, more individuals are seeking to break free from traditional career paths, opting for meaningful experiences that allow them to connect with their aspirations.

Lainie Liberti is a best-selling author, international speaker, community leader, teen mentor, and alternative education advocate who helped to spearhead the thriving world schooling movement after stepping away from a successful career in marketing & advertising.

While discussing the transition from a career-oriented life to a family-centred one, we explore how individuals can build bridges across cultures and advocate a lifestyle that empowers the family to become an influential agent of change.

#Education #WorldSchooling #PartnershipParenting #ChangeMakers

Reimagining Work-Life Balance

In a rapidly changing world where the conventional nine-to-five schedule weighs heavily on individuals, there’s a desire for a better work-life balance and fulfilment beyond traditional careers. The relentless demand and stress from such careers often lead to a pivotal moment where individuals seek a significant change in their lifestyle—one that allows them to fulfil lifelong aspirations, such as raising a family and being an active, present parent.
The shift from a career-driven life to one focused on partnership and parenting represents a longing for connections beyond the professional realm. It’s a transformative journey that is about stepping out of the workforce and redefining personal success and happiness.

Partnership Parenting: One Pillar in Alternative Education

For Lainie, partnership parenting is at the core of this lifestyle change—a collaborative and conscious approach to raising children. Partnership parenting is about fostering deep family connections and fine-tuning communication, and it stands in contrast to traditional methods that might accentuate an imbalance of power between parent and child.
Advocating for alternative education, specifically within the world schooling community, requires nurturing a family culture that surpasses academic learning. It’s about understanding and integrating family values and decision-making processes and ensuring that every voice within the family is respected and taken into account. This holistic method resonates particularly strongly with families who choose paths like home education, world schooling, or unschooling—groups that often find themselves stepping away from the norms dictated by conventional cultures.

What is World Schooling?

World schooling combines cultural immersion, travel, and experiential learning, transforming the world into a resource for knowledge and growth. Whether it involves global travel, engaging with local multicultural events, or inviting the outside world in through cultural exchange programs, world schooling broadens children’s educational horizons.
This inclusive definition of world schooling encompasses various educational methodologies, from formal homeschooling to long-term travel and unschooling. At the heart of this movement is the facilitation of an environment where curiosity catalyses learning through exposure to varying ages, social backgrounds, and experiences. World schooling shatters the misconception that children educated outside of traditional institutions miss out on understanding the world’s rules. On the contrary, it immerses them in real-world interactions, giving them firsthand insight into how to navigate and engage with a plethora of cultures and communities.

Bridging Social Learning With Global Engagement

World schooling provides children with the opportunity to interact with diverse age groups and backgrounds, thereby offering a practical understanding of social dynamics that can be otherwise limited within conventional schooling environments. Rather than preparing children for the world, world schoolers are already an active part of it, learning through doing, with family culture serving as a safety net for connected and honest dialogue about choices and consequences.
Furthermore, contrary to the assumption that world schooling leads to social isolation, the reality showcases a vibrant, supportive community. This sphere comprises events, conferences, and other meeting points where like-minded families and children can connect and create enduring friendships. Technology supports these connections across distances, proving that conventional schooling is not a requisite for rich social lives. The testimony of lifelong friendships formed through the world schooling community attests to the effectiveness of this global, inclusive educational approach.
In essence, world schooling not only reframes education but also redefines the boundaries of community and friendship, proving that learning and growing together can occur worldwide, unconfined by traditional schooling structures.

Unpacking the Essence of Partnership Parenting in World Schooling

As families worldwide embrace the world schooling model, they simultaneously embrace the essence of partnership parenting. This progressive approach moves away from the hierarchical relationships typical of traditional parenting and, instead, fosters mutual respect and dialogue. Parents and children navigate life together as equals, with a focus on learning, discovery, and personal growth that is genuinely collaborative. Such a bond strengthens the family unit and ensures a richer, more meaningful educational experience as world schooling unfolds.
In partnership parenting within the context of world schooling, there’s a shared responsibility for the logistics of travel and education and emotional and ethical development. It creates a dynamic where children learn to voice their opinions, make decisions, and reflect on their actions based on aligned family values rather than rigid rules or imposed expectations. This method allows for the growth of self-regulated, thoughtful individuals who are comfortable with introspection and change.

Cultivating Lifelong Values and Deschooling

Incorporating the principles of partnership and mutual respect into world schooling naturally aligns actions with core family values. Families often discover that what begins as a set of personal values evolves into a shared family philosophy that informally guides education and life choices. Deschooling becomes an integral process in this transition, as it encourages children and parents to unlearn traditional educational frameworks and preconceived notions of success. This continuous deschooling process emphasises personal development and acknowledges that mistakes are learning opportunities, not failures to be penalised.
Parents who choose to world school often unlearn generational patterns and shift their approach to raising children. This introspection and commitment to change can be transformational for parents and children as it establishes a safe space for open and honest communication. In turn, this cultivates deeper trust and enhances the learning experience outside the confines of conventional education.

Education Through Partnership and Exploration

Education through partnership allows children to explore their interests and appreciate and learn from their parents’ passions. For instance, a parent who discovers a newfound love for pre-Columbian history might be pleasantly surprised to see their child develop an interest in mythology, politics, or adjacent cultural studies. This synergy exemplifies how world schooling accommodates evolving interests and encourages broad, interdisciplinary learning.
Such a method fosters independence, critical thinking, and an appreciation for many subjects. A child might accompany a parent on archaeological digs, learning history and science in the field, or they might spend a day at a local farm, understanding ecosystems and the value of sustainable living firsthand. These practical experiences provide children with a diverse, reality-based education that surpasses the breadth and engagement of traditional classroom learning.

Navigating Challenges and Embracing Community Support

While world schooling offers unparalleled opportunities for growth and learning, it also poses unique challenges, such as dealing with moments of isolation or misunderstanding. World schooling families learn to address these issues through the partnership model, providing support and working through challenges together. Parents, too, must be open to learning and adapting, constantly negotiating their beliefs and behaviours in light of new experiences and information.

The world schooling community provides a robust support network, with families often sharing strategies and offering encouragement through online forums, regional meetups, and informal gatherings. This community is a crucial safety net, particularly during transitional moments or when facing obstacles. With shared values at the core of the movement, the support system within the world schooling community is dynamic and responsive.

World schooling is an ongoing journey that defies the traditional constraints of education and parenting. Through the lens of partnership parenting, families within the world schooling community continue to forge powerful bonds, cultivate resilient values, and nurture a generation of engaged, empathetic, and well-rounded lifelong learners.

Building Emotional Resilience and Self-Reflection

The world schooling approach to partnership parenting learns from the challenging yet everyday moments in a child’s life, recognising them as critical opportunities for building emotional resilience. Moments of perceived isolation or difficulty are not met with punishment but are used to enable self-reflection and growth. This nurtures an environment where parents and children can openly discuss their feelings and experiences, turning potential stressors into powerful teaching moments. With guidance, children begin to view challenges as chances to develop coping skills and adaptability—traits essential for success in their personal and academic lives.
For example, when a child, like Lainie’s son Miro, feels isolated or experiences emotional turbulence, the temptation might be to solve the problem immediately. However, world-schooling parents like Lainie understand that enduring these discomforts while providing empathetic support can be critical for their child’s development. It’s about striking a balance between offering a safety net and allowing for autonomy that encourages children to process their emotions and understand themselves better.

Engaging in Co-Created Ventures

This autonomy and understanding of each individual’s role is exemplified in the launch of Project World School, a venture born from the collaboration between Lainie and Miro. As participants in a mutual learning journey, both parent and child have brought their respective talents to the table. Project World School is a living example of how educational aspirations can merge into tangible, community-based projects that resonate with the world schooling ethos.
Co-created ventures like this demonstrate the tenets of partnership parenting in action. They empower children to take initiative and validate their ability to contribute meaningfully to a shared goal. By working alongside their children in this manner, parents also emphasise a critical life lesson: collaboration and synergy can lead to outstanding outcomes that would not be possible in solitude.

Promoting Intergenerational Facilitation

As children in the world schooling framework advance in age and maturity, they often find new roles within their educational environments. Miro’s evolution from participant to co-facilitator reflects the natural progression world schooling encourages. With the passing of years, children grow to mentor and support their peers, just as they were supported. Gradually, they transition to positions where they can pay forward the empathy and understanding they receive, which enriches their lives and the lives of the community around them.
This intergenerational facilitation lays the groundwork for a society where teaching and learning are fluid, roles can shift, and age is less of a barrier than a bridge. By involving children in the planning and executing learning experiences, as seen in Lainie and Miro’s collaborative effort, they become stakeholders in their education and, by extension, their futures.

Embracing Diversity and Shared Human Experience

With the launch of initiatives like Project World School, world schooling families underscore an essential principle: embracing diversity and the shared human experience. Through communal living and learning, participants from different backgrounds come together, bringing many perspectives to the learning experience. Every interaction and every engagement is a moment for learning, not just about subjects like history and science but also about the subtler lessons of compassion, empathy, and cultural understanding that traditional classrooms can struggle to impart.
The retreats planned by Lainie and Miro also emphasise the world schooling value of immersive, experience-based education. They create platforms where shared human experience is the curriculum, and living is the mode of instruction. In such an environment, participants learn life skills and emotional intelligence alongside more academic or practical knowledge—preparing them for the ever-changing global environment they will inhabit as adults.

Initiating The Journey of Connection

For parents intrigued by the world schooling ethos but unsure where to begin, the advice is simple but profound: start with self-awareness and a pause. Recognising moments of personal reactivity can allow a parent to reassess, returning to the situation with a grounded response rather than an impulsive reaction. This subtle shift can immediately change the family dynamic, signalling a departure from authoritarian approaches and moving towards mutual understanding and respect.
As Lainie mentioned, employing tools like establishing safe words or signals can encourage honest and healthy communication between parent and child. Parents are advised to relinquish control in favour of collaboration, lean on principles of partnership parenting, and embrace the world schooling philosophy, where the journey and the togetherness it fosters are considered as important as the destination.

Cultivating a Practice of Apology and Repair

In the journey towards partnership parenting and fostering a deeper family connection, apologies and repairs play a significant role. Recognising when one’s actions are driven by habit rather than conscious choice is a profound realisation for any parent. It signifies a moment when one can choose a different path—one that leads to healing and strengthened relationships.

For parents embracing the world schooling philosophy, engaging in the practices of apologising and repairing relationships becomes a model of emotional intelligence for their children. When a parent can pause to reflect and then come to their child with an acknowledgment of their own missteps or emotional reactivity, it teaches the child several lessons:

  • Conflict resolution: It demonstrates practical ways to acknowledge mistakes and work towards resolving conflicts.
  • Emotional vulnerability: It highlights the importance of being open about feelings and the impact of one’s actions on others.
  • Accountability: It emphasises that taking responsibility for one’s actions shows strength and integrity.

This conscious approach to parenting ensures that missteps become opportunities for growth rather than instances that perpetuate cycles of hurt. It’s about being present in the relationship and showing a commitment to always strive for a better connection.

Encouraging Parental Growth and Lifelong Learning

The principles of world schooling aren’t solely focused on the child’s education; they equally encourage the ongoing growth and development of the parents. Becoming a partnership parent is not a static achievement but a continuous journey of learning and adapting.

While they guide their children through life’s myriad lessons, world-schooling parents are also on their path of discovery—unlearning patterns that don’t serve the family dynamic and embracing new methods that foster connection and mutual respect. Here are some steps that can help maintain this growth trajectory:

  • Self-Education: Parents can continuously stay informed about effective parenting techniques, child psychology, and educational trends to improve their approach.
  • Community Support: Engaging with other world schooling families can provide a network of support, sharing of experiences, and a way to offer and receive guidance.
  • Regular Reflection: Dedicating time for self-reflection can help parents evaluate what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change to improve their partnership parenting journey.

By consistently investing in their personal development, parents improve their family’s quality of life and set an example for lifelong learning and adaptability. This lesson will serve their children throughout their lives.

Integrating Communication Tools and Strategies

Going beyond the conventional approaches to communication, world-schooling families often integrate innovative and intentional tools to navigate the complexities of interpersonal relationships. Establishing safe words or signals, as Lainie suggests, is one such tool that facilitates open and non-confrontational communication. Other strategies might include:

  • Family Meetings: A regular, structured time for family members to discuss matters that affect the household, share feelings, and collaboratively find solutions.
  • Dialogue Journals: Keeping a shared journal where parents and children can write down thoughts or feelings that may be difficult to express verbally.
  • Active Listening: A practice in which the listener concentrates on the speaker, understands their message, acknowledges their feelings, and then responds thoughtfully.

Incorporating these tools into daily life ensures that every family member feels heard and valued. It helps prevent misunderstandings and builds the foundation for a robust, communicative relationship where everyone thrives.

Opening Avenues for Feedback and Collaboration

Encouraging family members to share their thoughts and feedback is essential for a dynamic and responsive learning environment. Parents who are receptive to their children’s insights show that they value their opinions, which, in turn, boosts the child’s self-esteem and confidence.

When families come together to discuss and plan their learning journeys, everyone becomes more invested. Children, feeling like true partners in their educational experience, gain a sense of ownership and are more likely to engage enthusiastically. Parents can facilitate these collaborative sessions by:

  • Brainstorming Together: Creating a safe space where everyone’s ideas are welcome and considered.
  • Setting Shared Goals: Working together to set individual and family growth goals that align with their values and aspirations.
  • Regular Check-ins: Scheduling time to discuss progress, challenges and brainstorm solutions or new directions.

Through these practices, world schooling becomes more than an education model—it transforms into a way of life that emphasises connection, shared experiences, and the collaborative pursuit of knowledge and understanding.

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Resources Mentioned

We Are WorldSchoolers

(Facebook Group)

The We Are Worldschoolers Community welcome all who are interested in learning from the world combining experiential learning and cultural exchange. We are more than just a “travel group” OR an “education/homeschool group”. We are a community, whose origins span the globe, representing different nationalities, belief systems, cultures and worldviews. We are a community of learners and adventurers, families of all sizes, people of all ages.

Learn more

Seen, Heard & Understood by Lainie Liberti

Seen, Heard & Understood dismantles many ‘traditional’ parenting techniques rooted in coercion to introduce a new era of connection and partnership. Liberti helps parents understand their teen’s developmental stages and behaviors in an easy-to-follow format through stories, research, applied psychology, and science-backed tools. This hands-on method of parenting teens is well-researched, endorsed by MDs, PhDs, and other mental health professionals, and spreading like wildfre among parents.

Learn more

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