As Soon As You're Born They Make You Feel Small: Self-Determination Youth Liberation Program

There’s a common belief that kids are tiny devils that need to be controlled. But children are hardly running wild. Indeed, leave a child alone for two hours and watch them develop a new interest. Instead of waiting for adulthood to become responsible, they would rather do it now—if we gave them that agency. For most children they’d rather participate in their community, make decisions to affect their own life, foster respect for others’ decisions, and find worth in their own life instead of having their value be determined for them. Children are coerced and forced to submit to others’ rules "for their own good" and told that they’ll understand when they’re older. As much a reminder of the power of kids as a critique of modern schooling and parenting, this classic youth liberation text originally published in 1986 and updated in 1999, is finally refreshed for the modern era.