I first heard of Dayna after she and her husband Joe appeared on The Dr. Phil Show as advocates of "radical unschooling" (a type of homeschooling). When I realized she's also a Daily Groove subscriber, I requested this interview. In addition to behind-the-scenes stories about her family's Hollywood adventure, Dayna shares about her parenting philosophy, her childhood, and being an agent of cultural evolution through parenting. (And that's just the beginning! There's more in Part 2, below.)

If you have a slower (dial-up) connection, or difficulty using the audio player above, try this mp3 download (3.4mb)

Related Links:

• Dayna's website: UnschoolingAmerica.com
• About the Martins
  (from their home-based biz, WillowToys.com
• HomeschoolRadio.com's interview of Dayna
  [update: site no longer exists]
• The Dr. Phil Show
  (partial transcript of the Martins' TV appearance)
• The Daily Groove

Part 2

In the second half of our discussion, Dayna and I talked about...

• Dayna's strategy for creating a parenting groove
• Outrageous acts of kindness
• Dayna's "radical" parenting principles
• How parenthood transformed and healed Dayna
• Books that changed our lives (see below)
• How to "unschool" IN school
• On growing a home-based business
• "What would Dr. Phil say?"

If you have a slower (dial-up) connection, or difficulty using the audio player above, try this mp3 download (4.7mb)

Books mentioned:

• The Continuum Concept (Jean Liedloff)
• The Baby Book (Sears & Sears)
• Whole Child, Whole Parent (Polly B. Berends)
• Nonviolent Communication (Marshall Rosenberg)
• Parenting a Free Child (Rue Kream)
• Ishmael (Daniel Quinn)
• Dumbing Us Down (John Taylor Gatto)
• How Children Fail (John Holt)