Jan Stover:

Helping mothers educate their children in liberty.

Jan Stover is the Founder and Director of The Mothers Institute. Her life experiences are an eclectic blend of parenting, publishing, politics and entrepreneurial endeavors. Jan is currently editor of the Mothers for Liberty Magazine, the official publication of The Mothers Institute.

This is a Blackoakmedia.org original interview.

Black Oak: What led you to found and organize the Mothers Institute?

Jan Stover: I've always had two great passions in life - family and freedom. I had the good fortune of successfully melding those passions together during the years I raised and homeschooled my two sons. After my children headed off to college, the time was right for discovering new opportunities to honor these same passions.

Initially I became involved in politics, but soon I began looking for other viable and more family friendly approaches to promote the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility - concepts I used when raising my own sons. With that goal in mind, I started a Yahoo Group named Mothers for Liberty for the purpose of networking with other mothers who were choosing to raise their children with a self reliant, independent spirit.

As like-minded mothers from across the United States discovered the group, membership increased and soon included a blend of everything from activist moms to moms who simply shared the philosophy of individual freedom and personal responsibility.

In January of 2007, my own mother passed away after a brief illness - but before her passing, she and I had the opportunity to discuss the value of an organization which could successfully promote an approach to mothering that would encourage the principles we women had already been discussing and practicing.

Hoping to network with more like-minded mothers throughout the country, I organized another online discussion group and its membership grew quickly - today reaching over 800 mothers and representing almost every state in the U.S.  Some of the members are politically active while others simply live their philosophy promoting peace, prosperity and freedom while enjoying a connection with other mothers who are seeking to practice similar life tenets.

Recognizing the need to unify these social networking groups and build on the enthusiastic support of many dedicated women, the time was right to organize the Mothers Institute as an educational and networking resource for mothers choosing a somewhat outside-the-box parenting style. We at the Mothers Institute describe this style of parenting as Radical Responsible Mothering.

Black Oak: What is the long term goal of the organization?

Jan Stover: The Mothers Institute has several long term goals:

1. To become a clearing house for information, products and services that benefit those involved in all ages and stages of mothering.
2. To fund a vibrant and effective homeschooling scholarship program which we have named The Hazel Jones Memorial Homeschooling Scholarship Program in honor of my mother.
3. To help mothers locate local resources, build individual skills, and promote community through our Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups.
4. To promote Civics in the Classroom - whether it be in a homeschool, public or private school setting. As such, the Institute hopes to help build awareness of our nation's founding documents, the history of our Republic, and the benefit of teaching and practicing such time honored traditions as reason, logic, creativity, civility, discourse, debate and dissent.
5. To host annual regional and national Mothers Institute Conferences
6. To build a uniquely qualified MI Speakers Bureau

Black Oak: What do you believe are the benefits of homeschooling over private or public schooling?

Jan Stover: There are many benefits of homeschooling that are generally not practicable in the average private or public school experience. Homeschooling offers children the freedom to explore, discover, create, and learn in a setting that compliments their interests, efforts and passions - while engaging in such activities according to the child's own time table consistent with their abilities and nature. Homeschooling encourages children to know that learning is not governed by a location or the ringing of a bell - learning happens everywhere, all the time. Homeschooling offers parents and children the opportunity to forge bonds unique to the experience as life and learning are shared.

Black Oak: How would you respond to critics who allege that homeschooled children miss out on the socialization offered by classroom-based education?

Jan Stover: Socialization is certainly not confined to the classroom, and assuming that socialization is best achieved in the confines of a single room with children of the same age is less realistic than the proponents of this approach might think.

Life in general - and a child's future workplace specifically - will require an ability to engage people of all ages and walks of life - homeschooling does exactly this. Homeschooled children are often members of homeschooling groups; are personally active in community, church and scouting activities; volunteer in local causes; work in apprentice-style settings, attend community college and camping programs, participate with their parents/grandparents in daily household activities and so on - each building valuable life and people skills.

Black Oak: How do you define "responsible mothering"? Do you believe our society encourages or discourages responsible motherhood?

Jan Stover: Simply put, responsible mothering means raising your own child - not having someone else do it for you. Of course there are exceptional and unforeseen situations where this is not possible - but barring those exceptions, mothering should be a full time, ongoing commitment to your child's health, happiness, and well-being.

As mentioned earlier, the Institute uses the phrase Radical Responsible Mothering, recognizing that the word radical far too often evokes negative connotations when, in fact, it seems to define motherhood at its core. Reading Webster’s first and second definitions of the word radical.1) of, relating to, or proceeding from a root: as of growing from the root of a plant and 2) of or relating to the origin: fundamental - to be radical means to be at the origin or the root of our children’s lives: their conception, birth and development from infancy to maturity.

Additionally... Radical Responsible Mothering encourages mentoring with an open mind. Radical Responsible Mothering suggests the importance of passing on personal core values, but with a pliable approach. And ultimately, Radical Responsible Mothering is the ever present awareness that there is no greater responsibility or privilege than to raise one’s children with a devotion and dedication that rises above the needs, impositions and mandates of society. Consequently, when the individual child is cared for, raised in love, allowed to flourish and create - both society and the individual are the benefactors!

It is important to note here, that while the Mothers Institute advocates and supports stay-at-home-mothering and homeschooling, we also enjoy a healthy dialogue with mothers who have not chosen that role and life-style as an option.

Regarding society's influence on responsible mothering, I think the past several decades of women in the work force due in part to the importance society placed on career vs raising children is shifting a bit. However, we still have a long way to go when it comes to providing children a solid foundation that home and hearth provides and that day care centers can not duplicate. I am encourage though by the young mothers I am working with through the Mothers Institute, that society is once again embracing responsible mothering.

Black Oak: What kind of work, if any, does the Mothers Institute do with public or private schools? How receptive to your message have those institutions been?

Jan Stover: This question fits in well with our long term goals. We hope to one day provide assistance to schools who wish to reinstate civics in the classroom. This can be done in many ways and may include offering qualified MI speakers for classroom or general assembly speaking engagements, providing classrooms with materials and so forth. Currently our finances prohibit this, but as funding grows this should be do-able.

When the time comes that we are capable of offering such services, I hope we will be greeted by these institutions with a recognition that the students they are teaching will be the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, scholars, politicians, mothers and fathers - and as such, the more open-minded, independent, creative, and competent they are, the better for all of us.

In addition, we encourage our Mothers for Liberty Meetup Group members to attend local school board meetings in an effort to keep abreast of local happenings. An informed mother/parent is a valuable assest to her child, her child's school, and community in general.

Black Oak: What can fathers do to aid the Mothers Institute?

Jan Stover: Fathers share in the raising, loving and supporting of their children, and as such, the principles and endeavors of The Mothers Institute will resonate with caring fathers everywhere. Fathers wanting to aid the organization can do so in a number of ways:

• Be available to care for their children when their wives are attending MI events which are for moms only.
• Participate in MI sponsored events that are family related
• Purchase a membership for their wives, mothers, sisters, etc ...
• Donate to the organization
• Eventually we hope to begin Fathers for Freedom Meetup Groups across the country in conjunction with our Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups - those fathers interested may contact the Mothers Institute for more information.

Black Oak: How can someone contact you if she is interested in joining or contributing to your organization?

Jan Stover: Those interested in joining or donating, may do so via the Mothers Institute website at www.themothersinstitute.org and/or by calling the office at 618-580-8766 Membership and donations are always appreciated as a non-profit organization such as ours survives and prospers with the support of its membership and financial contributors.

To read more about Jan Stover and
the Mothers Institute visit
www.themothersinstitute.org

Interview conducted and
edited by Michael Kleen.

Reproduction of material from any original Blackoakmedia.org pages
without written permission is strictly prohibited.
Copyright 2009 Black Oak Media.