I’m Not the Expert 

(Previously posted on Open-Ended Parenting)

 

When I explain the intention behind this blog, I get mixed responses. Most people love the idea behind trying to raise authentic children. Once in a while I get less positive feedback, the most recent of which expressed skepticism at my ability to actually parent in alignment with my intention. After being slightly caught off guard with the feedback, I decided perhaps a disclaimer was in order.

Let’s be clear here. I don’t write this blog because I know how to raise authentic children. I write because I don’t know how. Because this is my exploration of a question I don’t know the answer to. I write because I don’t have all the answers. I’m simply sharing my exploration and thoughts as I discover them in case someone else is on a similar journey and can relate.

I can understand the confusion. Society places an emphasis on “knowing”. It is considered bad to “not know”.  Our school system is based on the “expert” model. The teacher has the information and the student is acquiring it. The teacher has the power because they have the knowledge. To be the expert is to have the power.

But seriously. THAT WAY OF THINKING IS AN ANTIQUE. The teacher is no longer the expert in the classroom because every child in the room has a smartphone in their pocket that can tell them more than any teacher ever could. The power no longer lies in the possession of knowledge but in the search for it. The most powerful among us don’t necessarily “know”, but they know how to find out.

Those who still cling to the “expert” model actually find themselves at a disadvantage. The first step to acquiring this new kind of power is to admit you do not know. Admitting you don’t know is the first step in seeking. If you already believe yourself to be in possession of knowledge, then there is nowhere to go. No journey to be had.

And the truth is, there is always a journey to be had. The world is changing at a faster pace than every before. Information is changing with it. There is always something else to learn, if only you can first admit to not knowing.

So if you came to this blog thinking that I have all the right answers, I apologize for the confusion. I’m just like any other woman and mother, taking this parenting thing one step at a time and hoping at the end of the day it’s a journey I can look back on and be proud of; not because I knew what I was doing but because I never stopped trying to be better.