Interview With Dale McGowan

Inspired by my recent interview with Dr Karl, I revisited the forum board of the Parenting Beyond Belief forum board, a few years after I first began my determined investigation on how best to contribute to skeptical resources for children.

Since that time (back in early 2007), I’ve contributed to a state-wide course that features skepticism as a mandatory unit (Philosophy and Ethics, taught to about fifteen schools after it started this year and still growing); had over sixty students take part in a skeptical report writing competition; attended and presented at conferences; done vodcasts and podcasts… and at every turn, I’ve re-educated myself and found that the answers were never as easy as they first seemed. You can probably tell that through the Skeptical Books for Children series!

I have, however, enjoyed meeting like-minded people on my journey and I’ve kept the Parenting Beyond Belief site in mind as an inspiring part of my travels. Therefore I’m honoured to have this blog interview with Dale McGowan of that site and greatly appreciate his answers to my questions.

In addition to editing and co-authoring Parenting Beyond Belief, Dale co-authored Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief, which is due for release in February 2009. He writes the secular parenting blog The Meming of Life as well as parenting columns for Humanist Network News, and edits the Humanist Parenting website for the Institute for Humanist Studies in Albany, New York.

My experience when researching (and somewhat echoed by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki in a Skepticality interview) is that it is important primarily to encourage literacy, with a fresh helping of non-fiction – more a ‘we have to stop trying so hard to fill a niche and fill a general need first’, as kids will tend towards what they like regardless. Despite this – what place can humanistic, secular texts have in a child’s life?

Yes, I’m definitely in favor of the more general, less targeted approach you describe. It’s important to encourage three things in our kids: a positive self-image, the ability to think clearly and well, and an unconditional love of reality. We do this in part by exposing kids to the widest possible range of ideas and opinions, including, but not limited to, humanistic, secular texts. If we have nourished a ravenous curiosity to understand the world, they will do the rest.

Your first co-authored book, Parenting Beyond Belief, states within its purpose that it ‘… is intended to support and encourage those who, having already decided to raise their children without religion, are in search of that support and encouragement’. Considering the variation of beliefs around the world (and indeed, opposition to people who do not believe in a particular religion varies), how much advice can practically be applied? How feasible is networking if one is very much isolated by distance or (I guess more relevant now than ever!) socio-economic circumstances?

Networking is a whole lot easier now than it was when the book was released in April 2007. Online communities are forming rapidly, including nearly 20 new secular parenting blogs and at least five discussion boards. Meetup groups are bringing parents together, including a secular parenting group in Raleigh that currently has 55 members. The Center for Inquiry is starting local parenting groups in seven cities nationwide. So people are finding each other.

But even more important is the realization that we are not so alone, even in our own localities. No matter where we live, we are ALL surrounded by other nonreligious parents, all of whom are closeted and busily assuming that everyone else is religious. I’ve heard scores of stories about coming out to a friend or neighbor, only to find that you shared views all these years and never knew it.

That’s a very encouraging thing to know! When I was at Dragon*Con as a part of the Skeptic Track earlier this year, I had a parent ask me from the audience of an education panel what strategies could be used to encourage a skeptical outlook, in conjunction with traditional schooling – and my first response was your site! What if the schooling that a child receives, or indeed the school’s attitude, is completely at odds to secular parenting?

This goes back again to that unconditional love of reality. Show kids how much more amazing the real world is than anything we can dream up, get them asking incisive questions (and do so yourself), and the rest takes care of itself.

I’m very interested in your new book, Raising Freethinkers, to be released early next year (February 2009), which promotes ‘over a hundred activities’ – are there additional strategies such as taking part in organised groups like Scouts, Guiding, non-secular camps or even scholarships and outreach that you would recommend, even if they do not strictly adhere to secular raising of a child?

Absolutely. We specifically address several alternatives to Boy Scouts, for example—including Earth Scouts and Spiral Scouts. Many of the activities described are just great science-oriented or naturalistic things parents and kids can do together to encourage curiosity, wonder, and exploration of the world and the self regardless of one’s religious stance. There’s no need to quarantine ourselves to activities that are tightly focused on secularism. We just need to find those that are tolerant and supportive of a naturalistic worldview.

Raising Freethinkers will offer ‘suggested books, DVDs, curricula, educational toys, and online resources relevant to each chapter topic’. How challenging is it to seek out resources and ascertain their practical use and valid appeal (particularly when I have come across a book with a foreword by James Randi, that says in the main text of the book that crop circles are an alien mystery!) ?

It is something of a challenge to find resources that are Guaranteed 100% Hoohah-Free. You do your best, but rather than fret too much about this or that departure from the party line, I recommend raising kids who can encounter the occasional bit of hoohah and know what to do with it. If we keep them hermetically sealed away from nonsense, how will they respond when they meet it on the road—as they inevitably will?


Dale McGowan’s books are available via Amazon and I suggest you request them at your local bookstore; the soon-to-be released book Raising Freethinkers is due out in February 2009 and is now available for preorder at Amazon.com. You can also register for the 2008 Parenting Beyond Belief seminar tour!

Tagged as: Dale McGowan, Education, freethinking, interview, Parenting Beyond Belief, Raising Freethinkers, secular children, skeptic books, skeptic books for kids, Skeptical Books for Children, Skepticism, skepticism for children