Aaaahhh, a little catching up to do, and I got about half of this written, but something happened with the computer and it didn't get saved, so I begin again, with even more catching up.... But, I digress. And work backwards.
Mon. 23 Jan.: I give thanks for new friends. I've been hearing about a 'this really cool chic' named Kristy through my friend Chloe for a few years now, and we recently connected both through Chloe and through the homeschool community. She has three awesome kids too, and they came over today. We enjoyed great interesting conversation, yummy snacks, and the kids got acquainted with one another. Looking forward to more.
Sun. 22 Jan.: I give thanks for working together. Some high school friends came over today. We are planning our class' first reunion - the 20th. It's so interesting that here we are, having lived twenty years of life, coming together so that we can help others come together too. And of course, Facebook and the internet make this so much easier. :) I'm thankful for that too.
Sat. 21 Jan.: I give thanks for cleanliness and order. We spent a good portion of the day tending biz, and it's a much better vibe when the place is at least somewhat tidy and clean. Atom and the kids played outside in the sunshine for quite awhile too, and the kids helped him stack some wood on the front porch. I give thanks for fresh air and sunshine too.
Fri. 20 Jan.: I give thanks for science. Inquiry, reasoning, exploration, postulating, proving theories. So satisfying for our minds that want to understand everything.
Atom went to Brennan's for a little 'Zombie night'. While he was gone, the kids and I did some drawing, and we read from a science book we have, simply titled Science by Time for Learning. It's a great overview, and it's fun that Phoenix is getting old enough to participate in the conversation; we ask questions, guess answers, read a bit, look at the pictures, they interject, Adobe gives real-life examples, they laugh, get excited, and on to the next bit.
Thurs. 19 Jan.: I give thanks for not having to pay for repairs when living in a rental. We had some sorely needed maintenance work done around here today and yesterday, and times are a bit tight, so it's really great not to have to choose between 'just dealing with it' or dipping into savings to pay hundreds for a plumber and electrician.
Wed. 18 Jan.: I give thanks for running water. I said before that 'I give thanks for (relatively) clean water to bathe in, cleanse with, and drink.' I would love to have clean, pristine, pure, unpoisoned water running through my back yard. If that were the case, I wouldn't even mind having to go outside to get it. But, seeing as that is not the case, I sure am thankful for the modern convenience that brings water right to our taps, and hot at that!
Tues. 17 Jan.: I give thanks for slow, cozy days. We stayed in today. Mostly. The kids did go outside and play for a little bit, and I kept the fire going, but we mostly hung out and read, did some lessons, projects, some cleaning, some playing, Papa did the grocery shopping in the evening, we had dinner, watched a little something, and went to bed.
Mon. 16 Jan.: I give thanks for creativity and daydreaming.David, Kate, and Corriell came over for the afternoon. I love them, some of my favorite people in the whole universe.
Kate and David are good friends of ours who met independently of me. I knew Kate from my Corcoran days - she was actually my pottery teacher there - wheel-throwing - when I was pregnant with Adobe (even though she's 2 years my junior ;), and although we were intrigued by each other, we didn't get to know each other well until after she and David became a couple a few years back.
Well, with them, they brought a Costa Rica fantasy. It's not the first time I've had one. It's been on & off for years, even though I've yet to go there. But Kate and David, who have been there, are rekindling that fantasy, and honestly, I've never heard a bad thing about Costa Rica.
What sounds really lovely is if we could do a year-long experiment, rent a large house together, our two families, for a relatively cheap price, put some feelers out, and see what happens.... Longer term, what would be ideal is if we could work in such a way to be able to spend chunks of time in both places. Must verbalize the fantasies.
And here's what the kids were up to while we fantasized.
the lovely Corriell
Phoe workin' his dough
Corriell's dough person
Adobe making a little crown
Phoe's dough head
Sun. 15 Jan.: I give thanks for the bounty of nature. We bought this mushroom growing kit - either from MOM's or Trader Joe's - and they are taking off, right on our kitchen rack. It's a cool project. They are easy to grow oyster mushrooms, and hopefully they'll be yummy. The stuff in the box (which it grows out of) looks like some dense molded stuff with coffee grounds in it. And the mushrooms coming out of there look beautiful.
Sat. 14 Jan.: I give thanks for true love. This one is a little long.
You know how you've heard those stories of people meeting online, say through eHarmony or something like that, and they fall in love, and it's for real, they get married, and all that?! I've got one to share. My friend Laura met Matt through eHarmony, having joined on a fluke, and then carried on merely friendly conversation with him daily for a couple months as a romance slowly began to kindle, then over a few more months fanned to a full flame. Now they have had two extended visits in person here, and they are getting married in the end of June! Sounds a little crazy right?! But guess what, it doesn't feel that way at all. When you see the two of them together, it's like the most natural thing in the world. And Laura has three kids who adore him who have also been corresponding regularly with him (thanks again to FB) and welcome him into their lives. This evening, we spent the evening with Matt in the fold for the third
time, laughed, told stories, had some serious notes, ate a delicious
dinner, and toasted to a fabulous future for all. Lovely story.
Which reminds me of my own, totally different lovely story. How I came to be
with my true love, Atom. I'll have to devote a whole future post to
that one.
Fri. 13 Jan.: I give thanks for healing. We spent the evening at our good friend Chloe's house - the one who, as mentioned previously, has gone through a really difficult phase in her life and is continuing on into a new phase, thankfully with an amazing amount of strength, love, and support. This was the most time, and the best time, we have had together in years. There was healing energy in the house, for all.
I love this woman and her children dearly. We connected when I was going through a difficult period too, about 8 years ago, and we have been close ever since, even if months go by where we barely see or even talk to each other. She held me up, literally, while I birthed my son Phoenix, and during that labor she was my main support other than Atom, and in addition to the midwife and birth assistant.
It pains me so much when someone I love is suffering, and I am thankful it is true that 'This too shall pass'. Sometimes we must remember that again, and again, and again.
Tues., Jan. 10: I give thanks for my mother. She conceived me (with some help of course) and carried me in her womb, labored for 36 hours, and bears a scar where they finally decided to cut her open and remove me from her body. Though I did not grow up with her (I was raised by my father from birth) we have always had a great relationship, one that has only grown deeper with time. Those of you who know me well know the full story here - perhaps I will write it some time. She is one of my best friends, one of the wisest women I know, and always a voice of reason in my life.
Wed., Jan. 11: I give thanks for spontaneous inspiration in the kitchen. Growing up, I think my dad may have cooked for us a total of 10 times, or maybe a few more, but I think at least half of those meals were hot dog sandwiches or franks and beans. We ate out a lot of the time. Sometimes, Eileen, my half-brother's mom who lived under us in the first-floor apartment of the house I grew up in, would cook dinner for me, but I didn't usually witness the process.
I did not grow up around anyone preparing meals. The only memories I can really think of where I witnessed some major cooking was at my aunt's and granddad's on holidays, and that was some major cooking that went on for hours and hours, resulting in quite a feast, where you eat on and off all day. Now, I'm a wife, and a mother of three, and there has definitely been a bit of a learning curve here. I discovered in my adult years that I'm a pretty good 'intuitive' cook, meaning I keep healthy ingredients around and can usually hook up a good meal by throwing some of those ingredients together.
However, cooking for yourself or one other person is one thing. And, I've done alot of eating out in my adult years for sure, esp. since so many were spent leading a hustle 'n' bustle kinda life. Now, I'm responsible for providing 3 meals a day for 3 other people (baby Din is still pretty exclusively on my milk) and myself. This is no small feat. Honestly, I'm usually wingin' it. I'm not a recipe kinda gal. Meal planning sounds nice, but it's not very realistic for me, given that I'm the type of person who often has difficulty planning beyond the next hour, except for really important things of course. My main strategy is simply to keep good, healthy, yummy food around, and then see what comes together when it's time to eat. (We don't have set meal times either.)
So what led to this post was a bit of spontaneous genius in the kitchen on Wednesday night. At shortly after 7 pm, I thought, hmmm, what should we have for dinner? I thawed some chicken in the nuker (in the basement - I resort to its' use in emergencies only ;), scrambled two eggs in coconut oil, added some frozen veggie fried rice to that, a few squirts of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and threw the chicken in a separate pan with olive oil, drizzled with raw cider vinegar, added some Celtic sea salt and other spices, and then some fresh garlic. Sounds good, but kinda a typical meal around here, and Atom and I have both been getting a bit 'bored' with food, so... I decided to put the rice on a corn tortilla, topped with the chicken, and then topped with a slice of cheese. Popped into the toaster oven to melt the cheese, and voila! Delicious. Yummy yum.
Thurs., Jan. 12: I give thanks for the arts, all kinds, for they have the ability to give voice to the heart, mind, and spirit, and release, inspire, feel understood, bring joy, and heal. There has been a lot of grieving, reflecting, spontaneous weeping, and ruminatinggoing on of late, off & on over the past few months. (See a past post here and the FB page of a friend who left this world a few weeks ago here.) It is making my thyroid ache. As I said in that previous post, so much of the weeping and sorrow is not for my own grief, but for others' suffering. I am an empath, and I think part of my purpose is to help transmute those very difficult emotions. I just have to be careful not to let them get stuck in my body.
One of the things that helps me with that is listening to good music, and especially music that makes me want to sing. So, yesterday I was listening to this really awesome album, 'Be OK' by Ingrid Michaelson. Over and over. It felt so good. In fact, I think I'm gonna put it on repeat again, right now. It's so awesome how sometimes just the right music comes on at just the right time, speaking to your life. In this case, I felt like it was speaking more to my dear friend (who has just gone through the most difficult time of her life) than it was to me, but it helped, and I sang and sang, and sent her love all the while.
(As a sidenote, if you're suffering, or have ever felt suicidal: Just don't get caught up listening to some sad music over and over while drinking copious amounts of alcohol when you're depressed. That's a bad idea. Switch it up. Feel the misery, for a little while. Then find something that gives you some shred of hope and happiness. If you can't force yourself to stop wallowing, find a kid, yours or someone else's and hug them, play with them for 5 minutes. That will make you feel better, at least for a little while. Most kids have this great intuitive sense that tells them when you need a really good hug or a laugh.)
We hosted our co-op/tribe at our house yesterday. I gave a lesson with a brief overview of the history of art from cave painting to the present, looking at the trends and styles that evolved over time, and the factors that influenced those trends. And then, we painted. Anything we wanted. And it felt so good. Here are ours. The pics aren't great - I just took them on the webcam, but I'll share anyway.
Phoe's painting: acrylic on cardboard.
Adobe's painting - her variation of Genevra DaBenci: acrylic on canvas
my painting - in progress still: acrylic on masonite
My thanks for the arts is so infinite that I could write a whole book on it. There will be more to come on the matter, I'm sure, but this post has been long enough already. Visual and performing arts have pervaded my life for as long as I can remember. My given name, Artis Mooney, aptly translates to 'wealth of art'. Artis - Latin - 'of art'; Mooney - Gaelic - 'wealth'.
Sat., Jan 7: I give thanks for my life. We went to a memorial service for a friend who chose to leave this world at the young age of 28. The outpouring of love for this person was tremendous, and he left behind a family and huge crew of friends who will miss his presence so very much. Life is such a gift, to be treasured, and though the road can be insufferable at times, we must always remember that others suffer too, that no matter how great our suffering, someone has it worse, and that 'this too shall pass'. Count your blessings, and keep moving forward.
me & my sweeties in our backyard. what you see is only a small fraction of the wood around here. good exercise. :)
Sun., Jan 8: I give thanks for physical work and a healthy body. I stacked a ton of wood on the front porch today (all of which my darling husband first cut and stacked at the back and side of the house) - which was a good thing apparently, since we got snow yesterday. I love work like this; it can be very meditative for me. I am so happy to have a body that works well, with no major aches and pains, in cooperation with my mind and spirit. During my last pregnancy I was so incredibly sore for a good number of months that I really understood how difficult it must be to live with chronic pain that never goes away. At least I knew, or hoped, that mine would subside once this lovely little being finally emerged into the world. I cannot imagine suffering like that with no end in sight. I will offer the insight, however, that meditation helped me tremendously with the pain, on the days I had the wherewithal to make myself sit mindfully still for at least ten minutes.
Mon., Jan 9: I give thanks for the weather! The snow was lovely, and it's nice to have a change of seasons, change of scenery, change of ambience, and yes, even a change of temperature. It's so silly when we complain about the weather, and some people always seem to want it to be something other than what it is. I love it all. True, I'm a bit wimpy about the cold in wintertime, however, I have my awesome wood stove and that makes it so much more enjoyable. I love keeping the fire burnin'.
Jan 5: I give thanks for my awesome homeschool tribe. We went to the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum in Winchester for the day with some of our posse, and everyone had such a great time. If you've never been there, well worth the trip. Similar to the way DC Children's Museum was set up for those of you who grew up in the area, except way smaller. Totally awesome. We wrapped it up at a yummy Thai restaurant there on the pedestrian mall a few doors down, and then stopped by a coffee shop a couple more doors down to refuel for the ride home while the kids ran around outside a bit longer.
These mommas and their kids (shout out to Kristen, Melanie, and Stephanie) are such a vibrant part of our network, and I'm so thankful for our freedom to explore and learn in a natural & fun way.
Jan 6: I give thanks for Facebook. Yes, it's true. Such a great centralized wealth of information, a great virtual community, a great voice for those who want to share their thoughts with any segment of 'their' public, whether mundane or profound, a great place to network, and of course, a great place to reconnect.
Another long break from actually blogging as I continue to write many many posts in my mind that will eventually find their way here, even if it takes another 5 years....
It was an intense autumn, filled mostly with lots of goodness and business that made me feel at times totally overwhelmed, but inspired and fulfilled at the same time, intermingled with some sadness that I explain in detail in a past post below; and an intense start to winter, with some very sad news on Christmas day, hitting during this time of year ('the Holidays') when I always feel so much conflicted emotion anyway, all of which I will explain later in another post.
So here we are, 2012 Space Odyssey. :) I do love something about this time of year - the days begin to get longer, which helps to deal with the cold, and while I am not one to declare a list of New Year's Resolutions, I look to the natural cycle of life for inspiration in this time of hibernation, incubation, renewal, and rebirth. I am a firm believer that we should reinvent ourselves anytime we see fit, whether it be simply a shift in attitude or perspective in a given moment, or change on a grander scale.
bat-leaf passionflower at the Botanic Gardens in DC
As I reflect upon what a challenging year 2011 was for so many people in my life and around the globe, the main feeling that bubbles up from my soul about this year and the coming times is thankfulness. I want to put even more focus on that than I usually do, and remember every single day the myriad things I have to be thankful for. And I want to write more. So, I endeavor to state every single day at least one thing that I am thankful for. It may be a simple one-line post, or more. And, since I do at times have a penchant for procrastination, perhaps at times more than one day will be condensed into a post. Alas, I'm late in beginning. So, 4 days' worth to start:
Jan 1: I give thanks for my incredibly stimulating, fiery, quirky, inspiring, and loveable husband and children.
Jan 2: I give thanks for (relatively) clean water to bathe in, cleanse with, and drink.
Jan 3: I give thanks for having a warm and safe place to live.
Jan 4: I give thanks for dear friends near & far who stimulate my mind, heart, & soul.
Any thoughts you want to share in reflection of 2011 or going into 2012? Click the pencil...
This was such awesome fun this weekend. This enormous blue tarp was one of a few that Atom had purchased back in February/March to keep the birth tub from leaking. (Oh, yeah, I still have to share that whole story sometime....) Why is it sooo huge? Because we were in a pinch (or so we thought - baby still didn't come for weeks after this purchase), and this is what he could find....
our future masterpiece as it was
So, this enormous big blue tarp, which was folded over many times and placed as one of many layers into a leaky birth tub, looking like a big blue plastic nest, has been being used to cover the super cool old phone booth Atom acquired, that is being refinished for an art installation. Gonna be so pretty.
With all the rain lately, the tarp had gotten pretty soaked, so to dry it out, we had spread it out on the ground, and then Atom decided to clip one end to the clothesline. Since it was a windy weekend, and the wind happened to be eastward, which was just the right direction, the results were fabulous! (It was an incidental bonus, right Atom, or was this intentional?) This kept the kids entertained, hoopin' and hollerin', for hours and hours on both Saturday and Sunday.
adobe & phoenix in the tarp ocean
And what a great lesson on aerodynamics in action, without us needing to say a word about it, to intellectualize it, or explain - just for them to see, and feel, and experience the joy of it.
surfin' waves in the tarp ocean
It dawns on me in retrospect that perhaps this is how Christo & Jeanne-Claude got started, with a happy accident.... If you don't know who they are, check them out. They adorn large stretches of land and other things with fabric. Well, really, if you're familiar with their work, that's a huge understatement. Their next undertaking is 'Over the River' - the Arkansas River:
"Over The River is a temporary work of art by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Christo plans to suspend 5.9 miles of silvery, luminous fabric panels high above the Arkansas River along a 42-mile stretch of the river between Salida and Cañon City in south-central Colorado.
Christo is currently working to obtain the necessary permits so that his team can begin the installation process. He is hoping to exhibit Over The River for two consecutive weeks in August, 2014."
This ocean we've discovered in our backyard is so awesome, I don't know if I ever want to take it down.
a grave marker in the beautiful Sierra Vista Cemetary in Taos, NM
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense."
Rumi
It's been an emotional few weeks. Quite a bit of weeping.
Mitakuye Oyasin. We are all related. I do believe that beyond these bodies, we are all one, and the sentiment of this poem by Rumi resonates deeply with me - yet still, the reality of mortality can be hard to deal with.
Two weeks ago today, our dear sweet neighbor and landlord Mr. Bowyer passed away. I truly miss him and wish that we had spent more time with him. His presence was comforting, and pretty much every warm day that we had, he would be out in his wheelchair, either in his beautiful big backyard, or occasionally in the front driveway. Adobe liked to take friends over to meet him, outside or in the house. He had an open-door policy. He was a real sweetheart, and I feel that he loved knowing there was a nice family here enjoying this house, which we do, so much. I wish that we had had him over for dinner sometime, which just seemed like it would be tricky because of his big automatic wheelchair, with both entrances to the house being a few steps up, but I really wish now that we had made it happen, somehow.
My heart aches when I'm in the kitchen, where I'd always look out the window and see him across the yard getting fresh air and sunshine. My heart aches any time I look over at the house, and think about the fact that he (his living body) is no longer there, and his grandson, who's just a couple years older than me, is now there alone, after all these years of living with him, and helping to care for him, and being his buddy. But I know that he is still here, I feel his spirit around us, over the trees and the grass, and the houses, and I talk to him.
I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to pay last respects while there was still breath in his body. I wept so much on the way to the hospital, going into the room, and when I was saying goodbye to him. I wish that I had had a couple minutes alone with him, but the room was full of family members and his caretakers. I wanted so much just to give him a little Reiki, and a kiss on the cheek. I did whisper in his ear that we loved him and would miss him so much. And even though he was unconscious, I know he heard me.
Yes, he was not a member of my blood family, but I love him, and this is my first experience really of 'losing' someone that I am used to seeing on a regular basis. The only other family member who has passed on was my grandfather, and I loved him so much, but I hadn't seen him for ten years. In both cases, there is regret, and things I wish I'd done when they were alive.
My granddad's funeral is the only one I've been to. Mr. Bowyer's is delayed until January, because it will be at Arlington Cemetary, and they are booked up. My granddad's viewing and funeral gave me great comfort & closure - I wept over him, and kissed him, and stroked his hair, and his Buddha earlobes, and talked to him, and told him how much I loved him. He looked so small lying there, a shell of the big robust man I knew, so full of life, the man who threw great parties on the holidays for his family, who would sing, and tell stories, and enlist me and my cousins to perform for him, much in the way he did with my mother and her sister apparently.
This morning, I am attending another funeral. Two days ago, my dance teacher (from age 7 to 18), Ms. Sparks, passed on. More regrets. I have been talking for years about going to visit her, right here in Arlington, and never did. I'm so thankful though for the many great memories that I have of her from my childhood, and for the focus she brought to my childhood, the influence she had on my life, and the training she gave me, which along with others, helped me to support myself by teaching dance for many of my adult years. I did get a chance to thank her, many years ago, but I wish that I had gone and told her these things again, and told her how much I loved her. Today, I will be doing alot more weeping, I'm sure.
I weep for the pain of our knowledge of our own mortality.
I weep for the pain that causes my father, and for the wish that he will find resolve with this before his time comes.
I weep for the pain and sorrow of loved ones who miss that special person they will see no more.
I weep for the pain of humanity.
I weep for the pain of mothers and fathers who have lost a child.
I weep for the pain of children who have lost their parents.
I weep for all of the suffering in the world.
I weep because change is so hard sometimes.
I weep with gratitude and joy for the gifts in my life, first and foremost being my family.
I weep with gratitude and awe for this amazing baby and my other children who have chosen me as their mother.
I weep with gratitude and joy for life.
Yes, I'm back! I have really missed writing here. Why have I been gone so long?
Well, two reasons: I had a long, drawn-out pregnancy that I really wanted to enjoy, but it was so difficult (a more detailed story of that and the birth, which went fine in the end, later...) that I couldn't really focus on much other than myself, my body, my family, and the little life that was growing in me, more, and more, and more, and more!
laboring away with my enormous melon of a belly and my sweet supportive husband Atom
Tammi checking fetal heart tones
our boy the moment after he was born, when he still had no name...
Takoda Din was born early March 7, at home in a birth tub, almost a full month after his supposed 'due date', after a very long and arduous labor, weighing in at exactly 9.5 pounds. It was awesome, exhausting, and so incredibly empowering! My lovely, amazing, and very very patient midwife, Tammi McKinley, was at my house for over 36 hours and never once made me feel pressured in the least. Atom kept telling me all the right things just when I needed to hear them, when I was totally exhausted and felt like I couldn't go on.
Reason 2: So, after I got that over and done with and rebirthed myself yet again, I came to Blogger, and things were all messed up! They had changed things, and there were some weird bugs going on, and I was so frustrated! I thought 'What is goin' on here?! Am I going to have to switch everything over to Word Press? Or to iWeb where I have much more control of everything visually?' But, I guess Blogger was having some growing pains too. But now, today I came here, and everything's more new and pretty fabulous so far! So I posted something I'd had in draft for months (the Race to Nowhere post). Thank goodness they got it together, because I really need to write. And you can tell I'm really excited, because I usually abhor gratuitous use of explanation points! :)
That's it for now, just wanted to fill you in, in case you've been wondering what happened to me, or happen to notice the huge gap in time here....
'Til next time.... I promise it won't be another 8 months.
And here he is just two weeks ago! My beautiful angel, baby #3.
sitting up independently for the first time really, at our friend's house <3
As children start a new school year, here's some food for thought. If you are a school-going friend, please don't take this as an affront, but a call to action. Here in the Northern Virginia area, many families are blessed to have their children attending pretty decent schools, even good, and in some cases, even great. But just stop to think about what it is that makes a school great. Ask questions. And see this film.
On a Saturday last winter, I had the pleasure of attending a screening of the film, “Race to Nowhere” by parent and first-time film maker Vicki Abeles, as part of the Alexandria Film Festival. I wrote a review for AlexandriaNews.org, the majority of which comprises this blog post that for some reason is just now being published. (Um, I birthed a baby on March 7. ;) Race to Nowhere was one of the winners of the festival, receiving the Audience Award. This is one of the most moving, timely and crucial films I have seen. Abeles said in the Letter From the Director, on the film's site: “Race to Nowhere was inspired by a series of wake-up calls that made me look closely at the relentless pressure to perform that children face today. I saw the strain in my children as they navigated days filled with school, homework, tutoring and extracurricular activities. But it wasn’t until the crisis of my 12-year-old daughter being diagnosed with a stress induced illness that I was determined to do something.” And do something she did.
This film is a great addition to the dialogue in an issue that is a hot topic right now – education reform. Race to Nowhere provides a healthy antidote to many of the current voices on the subject which seem to be missing the point by blaming teachers and still focusing on how to raise test scores. In an era that is still reeling from the effects of No Child Left Behind, what the system really needs is a complete overhaul in not only how we measure success, but the mere definition of the word, as it relates to education and to life. The film echoes my sentiment that what we really need to ask is this – what makes for a successful learning experience? What cultivates a successful – and fulfilled, and happy – human being? Shouldn’t that be the point of educating our loved ones?
One of the experts in the film states, “I’m afraid our children are going to sue us for stealing their childhoods.” Many children are growing up in a world where every minute of every day is scheduled, and there is little to no down time, time to be bored, time to just be a kid and play. Abeles own daughter Jamey says at one point in the film, “I can’t remember the last time I had a chance to go in the back yard and just run around.”
Countless youth are aware that something is just not right with this formula of get the best grade – participate in as many extracurriculars as possible – so you can get into a good college – so you can get a good job – and make a lot of money. It doesn’t sound so bad, really, as a premise, but at what cost? One of the girls in the film points out that not only do you have to get good grades, but you have to be involved in the arts and play sports, join clubs, and find something unique about yourself so that you stand out when applying for colleges; and that among all of that, you have to figure out who you are, because if you don’t, you’ll lose yourself. At the end of the day, what matters more – how much money you have, or whether you’re truly happy and fulfilled? Abeles herself admits in the film, “Sometimes, parents just need to step back and say, ‘You know what, you’re doing a really good job.’”
Abeles received inspiration for the title of the film when interviewing one of the high school students who commented that students “get caught up in a race to nowhere”. Many students either get caught up in the drive to succeed, and sacrifice everything they can, including their mental, emotional, and physical health, or they tune out, and just decide they don’t care. It’s a Either road often leads to trouble. It’s a widely-known fact, also highlighted in the film, that among the students who do appear to be succeeding, cheating runs rampant. I remember this from my own high school days, 20 years ago.
The film shows that pressure comes from both ends of the spectrum – from highly successful parents who worry that their children won’t be as successful as they are, perhaps higher income parents who want to be able to brag to others about all of the things their child is accomplishing, and from lower-income parents who perhaps never even graduated high school, or never attended college, who not only want better for their children, but demand that the only possible route to college for their kids is to get the best grades so they can get scholarships to attend school. “The pressure comes from the colleges, from the parents, from the government, but it has to stop.”
In the film, the young people who were interviewed were experiencing such pressure to perform and “succeed” that they experienced stress-induced health problems and depression, engaged in food and sleep deprivation so they could stay up well into the night, sometimes all night, to complete their work, used pharmaceuticals to enhance their performance, and in some cases, found themselves institutionalized or hospitalized for eating disorders or mental breakdowns. Parents expressed that the little family time they had to share in the evenings were often filled with conflict and strife, both with their children and their spouses, over homework and grades. And then there is the very serious increasing epidemic of teen suicide. The film was dedicated to a beautiful 13-year-old girl from Abeles’ community (not involved in the movie) who had always been a straight-A student and very successful at all of her endeavors – and several months into the making of the film, committed suicide one weekend, because she was devastated after receiving an F on a math test.
The system at large does not allow for innovation. There is so much pressure on everyone to “succeed”, including the teachers, that they are forced to “teach to the test” because that is the main method by which everyone’s success is being measured. Creativity and individuality, in teachers and students, are sacrificed to protocol. One of the important points of the film is that these rote methods of learning are not promoting problem-solving, not producing critical thinkers. “Our students are pressured to perform; they’re not necessarily pressured to learn conceptually and deeply.” “And what is that going to mean, when we have a whole population of dentists and doctors who have been trained from the script?” One of the teachers in the film, who winds up making the very difficult decision to resign from her job out of frustration with the system, says tearfully, “Things that actually get our students to think are pushed aside.” Matt Goldman, Founder and CEO of the Blue Man Group, and Co-Founder of the Blue School in Manhattan, says, “These kids come to the table with this creativity and this love of learning…. Let’s just not take it out of them!”
The problem is not going to be solved by more rigorous testing, by more drilling of facts that lead to high test scores, by firing teachers in schools that fail to “perform”, by cutting funding in “under-performing” schools, by making teachers feel the pressure of losing their jobs if their students don’t test well, by giving bonuses to those who out-perform others. One of the main messages of the film comes through loud and clear: what we need is a re-definition of success.
As a side note: unfortunately, Obama’s Race to the Top (not directly mentioned in the film), while well-intentioned, is only another piece of the puzzle that is serving to perpetuate the problem. The state of Virginia chose not to participate.
If this is an issue that concerns you, please try to attend, or even host, a screening of this film. Register on the Race to Nowhere website to receive their action points and find out what else you can do, in your life and in your community, to be a part of this movement. There you can also see when & where the next screenings of this film are playing.
Chime in! I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please keep the conversation respectful.
Absolutely one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. This is a combo hand/computer animation made from a compilation of the main points made by Sir Ken Robinson in another recent talk about Changing Education Paradigms. This video really does a great job of illustrating the history and crux of the issue. I could watch this over and over (and in fact have already seen it about 7 or 8 times and see something new each time). It's incredible that this 11-minute video accompanies the audio of spliced-together main ideas from a 55-minute talk, and it's pretty darn seamless. You would never guess that this wasn't one from one continuous delivery, other than the fact that it does end rather abruptly. Definitely leaves me wanting for more. Enjoy!
Several months ago, we went to this awesome place out in Winchester, VA, called the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum. Even though we've only been there once, it's officially one of our favorite places in the world. We plan to visit there again soon, so I'll do a full post later, with pictures, about why the place is so awesome and all the things there are to do there. On the wall, they have this statement, nice and big, entitled 'Creativity Killers', and I requested a copy to bring home because I loved it so much, and it is a good reminder for me from time to time, especially when I feel like I'm being too controlling about what, how, and when my kids learn and do things. I'm not sure who wrote it, or I'd give that specific person credit.
If you want to inspire creativity in learning and life, here are some great reminders of things not to do:
CREATIVITY KILLERS
Surveillance: hovering over kids, making them feel that they’re constantly being watched while they’re working. When a child is under constant observation, the risk-taking, creative urge goes underground and hides.
Evaluation: making kids worry about how others judge what they’re doing. Kids should be concerned primarily with how satisfied they are with their accomplishments, rather than focusing on how they are being evaluated or graded, or what their peers will think.
Rewards: excessive use of prizes, such as gold stars, money, or toys. If overused, rewards deprive a child of the intrinsic pleasure of creative activity.
Competition: putting kids in a desperate win-lose situation, where only one person can come out on top. A child should be allowed to progress at his own rate. (There can, however, be healthy competition that fosters team or group spirit.)
Over-control: telling kids exactly how to do things--their schoolwork, their chores, even their play. Parents and teachers often confuse this micromanagement with their duty to instruct. This leaves children feeling that any originality is a mistake and any exploration a waste of time.
Restricting choice: telling children which activities they should engage in instead of letting them follow where their curiosity and passion lead. Better to let a child choose what is of interest, and support that inclination.
Pressure: establishing grandiose expectations for a child’s performance. For example, those “hot-house” training regimes that force toddlers to learn the alphabet or math before they have any real interest can easily backfire and end up instilling an aversion for the subject being taught.
Time pressure: restricting time for a child to explore a particular activity is a sure killer of intrinsic motivation. Children enter the ultimate state of creativity called flow more naturally than adults. This is a period in which total absorption can engender peak pleasure and creativity. In flow, time does not matter; there is only the timeless moment at hand. It is a state that is more comfortable for children than adults, who are more conscious of the passage of time.
Marcellita exploring watercolors.
Adobe laying out her composition.
Skyler exploring colors and strokes.
Which of these do you find especially challenging at times, or in what specific situations? Have you had any specific experiences that illustrate for you the points listed above?
Apparently, education reform is a hot topic right now. More and more people are waking up to the idea that something is just not quite right. Unfortunately, I feel that alot of folks are missing the mark. As stated by Sir Ken Robinson in the TED talk that I shared in a recent post, at this point, what we really need is not simply reform, but a revolution in education. Like so many facets of our culture, the current model for the education system is based on institutionalization that began roughly one hundred years ago, and it is outdated - and not necessarily an improvement over how things were done before. I think if more people were aware of how institutionalized education came about, and what its true main purposes were - largely, to serve the purposes of the Industrial Revolution - then they'd think twice about the system that has come to be accepted as the norm.
There is this "Waiting for 'Superman'" movie that has just come out - see trailer and Q&As here. I know it's currently playing at the Loews in Shirlington.
I'll reserve full conclusions until having seen the film, but having watched the promotional videos and Q&As, I'm not sure if they're really asking the right questions. In so many cases, it's not the teachers that are the problem - there are plenty of well-meaning teachers with lots of great and innovative ideas. It's that the system at large does not allow for innovation. There is so much pressure on everyone to 'succeed', including the teachers, that they are forced to 'teach to the test' because that is the main method by which everyone's success is being measured. Creativity and individuality, in teachers and students alike, are sacrificed to protocol. The problem is not going to be solved by more rigorous testing, by more drilling of facts that lead to high test scores, by firing teachers in schools that fail to 'perform', by making teachers feel the pressure of losing their jobs if their students don't test well. In my opinion, if a school does not have the highest test scores around, it could be a sign that they are doing something right, that maybe there really is a more holistic learning process going on.
What is 'success' for our children?! It looks like the film Race to Nowhere, which had its first screenings yesterday, may be taking a better look at the real problem. I can't wait to check out the whole thing.
Have a listen... Does this scenario seem at all familiar to you, either from your own schooling, or watching your own children now? It brings tears to my eyes...
(In the DC/NOVA/MD area, the film will be screening at the Alexandria Film Festival: AMC Hoffman Movie Theaters in Alexandria, VA on November 6 at 1 pm; the Flint Hill School in Oakton, VA on November 11, all day; and the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda, MD on December 2 at 7:30 pm, among other places. Visit their site for more info and other locations.)
What we really need to ask is,
What makes for a successful learning experience? What cultivates a successful - and fulfilled, and happy - human being? Shouldn't that be the point of educating our loved ones?
Recently, I came across this article I'd like to share. It is written by William A. Reinsmith, Professor of English at Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. Here he offers some great reminders for all of us, whether you are teaching your own children, teaching professionally, or looking for some fundamental criteria by which to determine whether your children are being taught in an effective way. Of course, if your children are in school, you can only glean so much information by talking to them about their school day - your best hope at getting a real look at these determinants is to sit in on the classroom, more than once (especially since these days, children are being shuffled around to quite a number of teachers throughout the day, often even at the elementary level) - which of course for many parents means taking time off from work. In some cases, that is just not really possible. As your kids get older, you can ask them, how do they feel about the education they are getting? What else could you do? Ask them to watch these movies (Waiting for Superman and Race to Nowhere) or even screen them school-wide. Go to PTA meetings, write inquiries to the principle and teachers, and present all or some of these points. (I'll lay out the 10 points Professor Reinsmith makes, and you can go here for expansion upon each point, which I recommend you do.) Let them know you care. Ask them, flat-out, how they feel about these points, and how much they are really able to address the children's learning in this way:
"Ten Fundamental Truths About Learning
1. Learning first takes place through osmosis....
2. Authentic learning comes through trial and error....
3. Students will learn only what they have some proclivity for or interest in....
4. No one will formally learn something unless she believes she can learn it....
5. Learning cannot take place outside an appropriate context....
6. Real learning connotes use....
7. No one knows how a learner moves from imitation to intrinsic ownership, from external modeling to internalization and competence....
8. The more learning is like play, the more absorbing it will be-- unless the student has been so corrupted by institutional education that only dull serious work is equated with learning....
9. For authentic learning to happen, time should occasionally be wasted, tangents pursued, side-shoots followed up....
10. Tests are a very poor indicator of whether an individual has really learned something...."
In conclusion, Professor Reinsmith states: "All of these interconnected truths are general enough to apply to learning of any kind. They are so basic and obvious that one may wonder why they need to be stated at all. Our greatest educators have espoused them in some manner during the course of Western history. Yet it is the simple and obvious that we tend to overlook when discussing or recommending educational change. We often engage in educational activity as if these truths didn't exist--and then wonder why we fail to engender learning in our students. In any profession ignorance of its elemental laws will lead to shoddy, even disastrous, results. Perhaps a large part of the reason we educate so poorly is that we fail to observe and work within the fundamental principles of our craft, so we don't create environments in which they can be applied. Successful teaching can ensue only where the fundamental truths of learning are both observed and respected. Periodically, teachers on all levels need to return to those basic truths--however mysterious they may be--and reflect on them at length." (emphasis mine)
Many, if not all, of these points are at the heart of the unschooling philosophy (read a previous post that attempts to address what that is if you haven't heard of it), and why many of the life-schoolers that I know do what they do - because it is a whole lifestyle that lends itself naturally to nurturing learning in this way. And I don't think it's impossible for schools to move towards this model, especially with the boom and boon of the internet and technology.
At the beginning of the last school year, I had the pleasure of covering President Obama's Education Address delivered at Wakefield High School here in Arlington. (As some of you know, I'm a photographer who freelances sometimes with alexandrianews.org.) I have to admit, I was inspired by some of what he had to say, and reminded that school - as broken as the system may be - does serve many many children with a way out of poverty, with hope for a brighter future than their parents and grandparents had, with an environment where perhaps someone takes the time to show they care, when it seems that no one else does. And I know that there are also plenty of children, coming from supportive, well-meaning, involved families, who are self-motivated, strong, confident, and are able to weather the storm and get a pretty decent education out of the whole deal, with their sanity intact. But overall, at what cost? For so many of our children, even the ones dealing with it, the schedule, responsibility, and pressure is overwhelming, to the point that some just want it to end.
The sentiment coming from the top and trickling on down through the ranks is based on an old paradigm. I think there is more than one road to success to be considered, more than one way to 'get an education', in or out of school. As with so many issues concerning Obama, I believe his intentions are genuine and good, but that the actions needed to even begin to fix this issue may be insurmountable at this time, as the population has exploded and we are faced with a Herculean task of educating the masses; especially since society and the economy have been structured in such a way that both parents (if the child still 'has' both parents) must work, just to make ends meet, so children, from a very young age, must be placed somewhere, preferably for free, and occupied, all day long, 5 days a week. In many households across the country, any family time, much less 'quality' family time where there is real connection and bonding taking place - without the time pressure of rushing to extracurricular activities, dinner, homework, cleaning up, getting ready for bed - is rare. And we, as a culture, are experiencing the repercussions of that. But that's the subject for another post...
As long as teachers are being forced by protocol (and fear of losing their underpaid jobs) to adhere to the SOLs and teach to the test, how much are they really being given the freedom and creativity to draw on these fundamental truths about learning as espoused by Professor Reinsmith? How much are they being allowed to draw upon their own knowledge and ideas which inspired them to become teachers in the first place?
Here is a brief compiled excerpt of some of what the President had to say. The last 5 sentences here are the most significant to me. You can read the entire prepared speech here.
"...[W]hat I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide....
And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it....
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.
Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork....
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future....That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America."
The problem is that at the end of the day, ultimately, what does matter for every single one of us, is happiness. And if you're being bullied day in and day out because of how you look, where you come from, where your parents come from, what your sexual orientation is, or so on, how can someone tell you that's no excuse for having a bad attitude? Where's the love? So many kids are really hurting because they are growing up in this disjointed, disconnected society where oftentimes they are left to feel emotionally isolated, like no one understands them, no one really knows them, and no one really cares. (Common sense says that the bullies are hurting too in some way, as suggested by some recent articles I've read on the matter in the recent flurry of teen suicides.) If they have the personal fortitude to tune it all out, or stuff it all down, and focus on their studies, get the grade, ace the test, what is awaiting them? The promised land of college, where they very well may find more cruelty and harassment, and where they will get a 'higher' education with a much higher price tag, emerging from said institution saddled with debt that will be facing them for, in many cases, the majority of (if not the entirety of) their adult lives, so that they can go work in a job that they may not even like. How many of you work in jobs that you can't stand? How many people do you know who actually like and feel passionate about what they do?
I don't pretend to have all the answers, because I don't, not even close. At this point, what I can do is teach my own (because fortunately I am in a position to be able to do so), share & glean some knowledge and creativity with other families & community around me, and keep asking questions - how can I do it better? How can 'they' do it better? Is the competitive, end-goal-driven, one-size-fits-all way of educating our youth contributing to the increasing epidemic of general apathy and disturbing cruelty some students display toward each other? What type of education do our children, the adults of tomorrow, need to truly prepare them for life in the 21st century? Somehow I feel, for one, education has to move beyond simply educating the mind, beyond the end-goal of diploma-college-$$JOB$$, and address emotional and spiritual development as well. Is that possible to achieve on a mass scale? The Mind & Life Institute is one organization I've come across that seems to have some interesting ideas on the matter. I personally feel that integrating the arts and creativity are key to bringing in the emotional and spiritual components, which is why I'm a fan of Sir Ken Robinson.
What are your thoughts on the matter? How do you deal with these issues in your own family? Do you have any ideas for a revolution in education? I'd love to hear from you....
A little after the fact, but thanks to the internet and podcasts, none-the-matter - you can still check it out, and it's still relevant.
Kojo Nnamdi, one of my favorite radio hosts, featured this topic last week - "Homeschooling Joins the Mainstream." Here is a link to the podcast. For those of you who wonder why we do it, and how it works, this is a great segment which may answer some questions. It amazes me still how many misconceptions there are about 'homeschooling', one of them being the big question of 'socialization'. As the guest speaker reveals, one of the 'dirty little secrets' about homeschooling is that we're rarely home. Although we don't necessarily deal with the daily scramble to rush out the door at some ungodly hour, we have our morning routine, which looks different in different houses, and then, most days, we are out in the real world, with or without friends, interacting with people of all ages, and usually having a dang good time.
Phoenix at Cox Farms, psyched after coming down the huge slide.
Adobe pulls a surfer move as she speeds down the slide.
"Home education works. Children who are homeschooled score, on average, 20 to 30 points higher on measures of academic achievement - these are standardized tests...."
Unexpectedly, shortly after 5 this morning, as I'm doing my daily reading of news, emails and such, I find myself with tears pouring down my face as I come across the story of the first 7 of 33 Chilean miners who were rescued after 69 days of being trapped when 700,000 tons of rock collapsed on August 5, trapping them in the lower reaches of the mine. That is simply incredible - that's over 2 months that they have been trapped down there! I can't even begin to imagine what those men have been going through. What on earth have they been doing with themselves, day in and day out, with no outward indication of course of the passing of days, and just waiting, waiting, waiting?! Unfathomable.
AP photo: Chile's President Sebastian Pinera embraces Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva, the first miner to be rescued.
How much food and liquids were they able to get down to these men after discovering on August 22 that they indeed were still alive? Did they have room to move around down there? Were their head lamps working still or were they in pitch blackness?
[As a follow-up, post-post, here's a link to an article that addresses these questions...]
I think part of the reason this struck me so hard is because mining is in my blood - my grandfather was the youngest of a family of Irish coal miners, the first to be freed from that hell, and the first to attend school beyond the age of 12. His father and brothers all worked in the mines, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, coming home completely black, covered in coal dust - the only thing you could see was their eyes and their teeth - only to return again bright and early the next morning and do it all over again. I wonder how many miners were buried alive back in the day. They certainly did not have the technology then that afforded these guys a safe return. Of course, part of the culprit in the increased frequency of mining accidents is that many mountains, like this one, have been overexploited. In this case, part of what made the rescue operation difficult and risky is finding sufficient virgin rock through which to drill the escape shaft.
I know these guys were mining copper and gold, not coal, and that work conditions have probably improved a little, but I'm sure it's still extremely hard work, and before this happened, these guys were "nobodys", just busting their tails to support their families. Now, after enduring hell for over 3 months, they emerge to find themselves thrust into the world spotlight, being welcomed to the surface by their country's President and Vice President! That's another potential tangent that I won't veer onto, but what a surreal experience it must be. I also won't veer onto the conundrum that is our industrial/consumerist society, of which I, admittedly, am a part, that drives such mining operations.
The other thing, silly enough, that sent another wave of tears down my face, is that the 13-foot rescue capsule, used to travel the 2,041 feet down the carefully crafted escape shaft and bring each of these 33 men to safety, one by one, is named Phoenix. Just perfect. And I was 33 when I brought this beautiful boy named Phoenix into the world. (And 13 when I met his papa. Yes, I have a bit of a thing with numbers...)
Miner Osman Araya arrives as the sixth miner to be hoisted to the surface in Copiapo October 13, 2010. Chile's 33 trapped miners are set to travel nearly half a mile through solid rock in a shaft just wider than a man's shoulders on Tuesday night, as their two month ordeal after a cave-in draws to an end.
It's nice to see a story of hope and solidarity, and miracle even, amongst the barrage of hateful happenings of late. I hope that through last night the rescue operations have proceeded smoothly, and I send love and healing to the men who survived this amazing ordeal. I'm sure their lives will never be the same.
This is another fabulous TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson, an advocate for creativity, recognition of multiple intelligences, and education reform. (Thanks, Mana, for turning me on to this one.) This certainly touches on one of many reasons I live the way I do, and do my best to inspire others, in one way or another, to follow their passion. Some of you are lucky enough to teach, or have your children enrolled in, schools that are at least attempting to participate in the revolution. It is great that there are those gems out there who are able to step outside the status quo and truly inspire unique individuals to discover and love who they are, and encourage them to find their path, to follow their hearts' desire. If, however, you are feeling skeptical about how the system is functioning, about the education your children are receiving, make some waves. Share your thoughts and concerns, with their teachers, administrators, and county officials. Offer some ideas, research, point to some alternative sources (such as this video), ask questions. Or, if your lifestyle permits, opt out, forge your own path, do things your own way, jump into freedom, discover your tribe in your area and build a collective; find a way for you and your child(ren) to pursue your passions together.
We all have a path, and sometimes we start down the road without even knowing where we're going. Many happy discoveries and adventures can be found along the way. Follow your instincts. Below are some highlights from this talk.... I hope you watch and enjoy.
"Education, in a way, dislocates many people from their natural talents.... Reform is of no use anymore, because that's simply improving a broken model.... What we need...is not evolution, but a revolution in education.....This has to be transformed into something else.... Many of our ideas have been formed, not to meet the circumstances of this century, but to cope with the circumstances of previous centuries. But our minds are still hypnotized by them, and we have to disenthrall ourselves, of some of them. Now, doing this is easier said than done. It's very hard to know, by the way, what you take for granted. And the reason is, that you take it for granted.... Life is not linear, it's organic. We create our lives, symbiotically, as we explore our talents, in relation to the circumstances they helped to create for us. But you know, we have become obsessed with this linear narrative. And, probably the pinnacle for education is getting you to college.... Human communities depend upon our diversity of talent, not a singular conception of ability. At the heart of our challenge is to reconstitute our sense of ability, and of intelligence.... When I arrived in LA about 9 years ago, I came across a policy statement, very well-intended, that said 'College begins in kindergarten.' No it doesn't - it doesn't.... Kindergarten begins in kindergarten.... There's such competition now to get into kindergarten, to get into the right kindergarten, that people are being interviewed for it, at 3 - kids sitting in front of unimpressed panels with their resumes, flicking through saying, 'What, this is it?! You've been around for 36 months, and this is it?! You've achieved nothing!'....
The other big issue is conformity. We have built our education system on the model of fast food.... We have sold ourselves into a fast-food model of education, and it's impoverishing our spirits and our energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies.... It's about passion. Often people are good at things they don't really care for. It's about passion, and what excites our spirit and our energy, and if you're doing the thing that you love to do, that you're good at, time takes a different course entirely.... You know this. If you're doing something you love, an hour feels like 5 minutes. If you are doing something that doesn't resonate with your spirit, 5 minutes feels like an hour. And the reason so many people are opting out of education is because it doesn't feed their spirit, it doesn't feed their energy or their passion.... We have to change from an industrial model to an agricultural model. We have to recognize that human flourishing is not a mechanical process, it's an organic process. And you cannot predict the outcome of human development. All you can do is, like a farmer, create the conditions under which they will flourish.... It's not about scaling a new solution; it's about creating a movement in education in which people develop their own solutions, but with external support based on a personalized curriculum...."
(Closing with a quote from W.B. Yeats:) "'Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, and wrought with gold and silver light, of blue and the dim and the dark cloths, of night and light and the half-light, I would spread the cloths under your feet. But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams.' And every day, every where, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet, and we should tread softly."
And we should dream too. I'm a big fan of what I call 'active daydreaming' - something along the lines of the Law of Attraction. Dream big, and dream well, rather than not allowing yourself to dream for fear your dreams won't come true.
I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences....
my thoughts on life, spirituality, metaphysics, esoterica, politics, childrearing, 'homeschooling', education, teaching, the history of institutionalized schooling, the (brief) history of institutionalized childbirth, the miracle for which women's bodies were made, love, travel, daydreams, holistic health practices, food as medicine, glimpses into my family life, trips down memory lane, adventures with my photography & art, and thoughts on humanity's paradigm shift... the possibilities are boundless. please share your thoughts on whatever you read & see - leave comments! your feedback means the world to me. thanks so much.
one of my many callings in life, one that has gotten the least attention from me, is my role as a writer. it is an incredibly strong & natural impulse in me - i write in my mind all the time, literally, and have been for years. i had promised my self that eventually i would find an outlet for this, because i am one of those people who just has an extremely busy mind already - constantly planning & developing various aspects of my business, being hit with strokes of inspiration, ruminating on the changes humanity will see over the next few years & what the best plans are for my family to see it through safely, and so on... plus, i am very interested in dialoguing with other people on a variety of subjects, so in some cases, this may serve as a starting point. if nothing else, it helps alleviate a bit of the burden my big beautiful mind carries. (thank you, mind!) and now that we are back to our 'free to be...' schooling, this blog will also serve as a way to paint a clearer picture of daily life outside of an educational institution.
i am passionate, and sometimes perceived as opinionated, but i never pass judgment on anyone who feels differently about things than i do, and i would never try to ram my viewpoints down anyone's throat. i have lots of friends with differing beliefs on various topics, and where there is respect and love, there are no obstacles. i simply wish to share a piece of myself, my discoveries, my way of looking at things. i am always open to someone else's perspective. we all have something to learn from one another. maybe you will read something here that you hadn't thought about. maybe you will make a point that i had not thought about. my hope is to inspire you, and be inspired. and most importantly, to spread light and love.
if you like what you see, subscribe to my blog, or if you're a fellow blogger, follow me! thanks.
Posts
