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“None of the world's problems will have a solution until the world's individuals become thoroughly self-educated.” ~ Buckminster Fuller
Been fans of the ol' Buckmiester for pretty much my whole life, but who knew he was an unschooler?! Sweet.
I realize I am a little late in sharing this, as I hear it is all over facebook and such already, but some friends here had not heard about it, so here ya go!
http://americaviaerica.blogspot.com/2010/07/coxsackie-athens-valedictorian-speech.html
Here is a taste :
And, quoting John Taylor Gatto, she wrote:I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told
to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great
artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While
others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading
about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were
creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I
never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned
it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I
be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my
life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I
excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning.
H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of
public education is not "to fill the young of the species with knowledge and
awaken their intelligence. ... Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim
... is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level,
to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and
originality. That is its aim in the United States."
"What sustains today’s social complexity, in the final analysis, is the extent to which individuals turn to complex systems to deal with their needs and wants. To turn away from complex systems on that individual level, in turn, is to undercut the basis for social complexity, and to begin building frameworks for meeting human needs and wants of a much simpler and thus more sustainable kind. It also has the advantage – not a small one – that it’s unnecessary to wait for international treaties, or government action, or anything else to begin having an effect on the situation; it’s possible to begin right here, right now, by identifying the complex systems on which you depend for the fulfillment of your needs and wants, and making changes in your own life to shift that dependency onto smaller or more local systems, or onto yourself, or onto nothing at all – after all, the simplest way to deal with a need or want, when doing so is biologically possible, is to stop needing or wanting it." John Michael Greer
Got the above here. Excellent read. I recommend it.
Just when I thought I had nothing to say, along comes this quote:
"My father says almost the whole world's asleep. Everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to. He says only a few people are awake, and they live in a state of constant total amazement." ---Patricia Graynamore
Wow! So, are you awake?
"Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly"
St. Francis de Sales
Saw this quote and had to share, and save it, here.
"When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse."
-Paul Hawken, in a commencement speech to the University of Portland this spring.
I read the data and understand it, but somehow I can't go all the way into pessimism. Life is good, afterall. Anyway, just wanted to share.
The only difference between joyful moments and others... is you.
The Universe
I love this one. Remember that kid who could go from shrieking to giggling in ten seconds flat? Well, lately she seems to have forgotten that skill. And, of course, me reminding her of the above does no good. No good at all. Makes me realize how seductive this life of duality, this illusion, really is. I guess that is why most spiritual practices are called just that, practice. You have to continually remind yourself of the Truth. Because of that I really enjoy the Notes from the Universe emails I get (click link above). Everyone needs a good smack on the head once in a while.
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." -- Cicero - 55 BC
...fiddling while Rome burns.....
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." -- John Quincy Adams
Ron Paul is the perfect candidate for unschoolers. Why? Because unschooling is based on living life according to your principles and his entire campaign is based on sound principles, not the business as usual promises of the rest of the pack, no matter which party. You may not agree with everything he believes in -I don't- but you can't deny that he is a man of principle. He does not have to give you a bunch of pretty sounding promises to get your support because you can predict how he will handle things if you understand the principles that guide him. For example, C had some questions about his stand on bringing the military home from the war in Iraq. I KNEW his answer even before I asked him on Tuesday this week at the rally, all because I already understood his principles. What are those principles? Personal liberty, non-intervention, freedom, sound money, Truth, and the Pursuit of Happiness, to name a few. Sounds an awful lot like the principles of Unschooling to me.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Mahatma Ghandi
The mainstream media is ignoring Dr. Paul, or outright putting him down as a radical long shot. I read somewhere today that 90% of the people have not even heard of him, but that 80% support him once they do learn about him. All I know is that I am proud to finally have a presidential candidate that I can stomach. And not just stomach, but wholeheartedly support all the way to the end, even if I have to write him in in November. A vote for Ron Paul is a vote FOR someone you can believe in. Not just a vote for the lesser of two evils. All you end up with is evil if you do that. I had a guy at the caucus tell me that Ron Paul can't win because he tells us the Truth. I almost said -but didn't- so, what, you want to vote for a liar, just because he is "electable"? I did tell him I thought the American people were ready to grow up and be able to handle the truth!
I have never voted in a primary election before. I have never donated money to a candidate before. I have never registered to vote under a party affiliation before. And, I have certainly never donated time and effort to support a candidate before. I have done all these things for Ron Paul. I am proud to say that I have done all these things and done them with my children, too.
Putting our sign up in the yard, against HOA rules, mind you!
The girls helped me prepare and distribute materials to pass out to our precinct the day before the caucus. I only wish I had done it sooner and talked to more people!
The girls sitting in a high school classroom during our caucus. Can you guess who they would vote for, if the law allowed them to?Time for change, as my blog design is so clearly proclaiming today. I have felt the need for a while now to change the title of this blog to better reflect what it is all about. I was inspired by an Amy Steinberg song, off her new album. The title is "Fall Down to Fly" and the lyrics are so great! I want to share them here and talk about what they mean to me and how it all relates to this blog.
Pretty inspiring, huh? So, despite my bringing topics that are not exactly good news into the light here, I have to dig deep to find the fear and doubt. I have faith in my own two feet and eyes to find my way and see clearly what needs to be done. I can, and DO, thank that source that sent me here to fly. Unschooling my children, and myself, has taught me to trust and to let go.I have to dig deep to live in doubt
My history shows everything works out
And though the mountain looks so high I got two feet so I can climb
I have to fight to find some fear
Beauty, she shows up everywhere
And though the mirror can be mean I got two eyes so I can see me
So I look a little bit harder at the lessons in my life
And I'll hang on when the rain comes and watch the oceans rise
And then I'll swim to the center where authentic joy resides
And then I'll fall down and thank that source that sent me here to fly
Fall down to fly
Sometimes you gotta fall down to fly
So, I'll trust a little bit deeper in those things that I don't know
And I'll watch real close as the world unfolds
I'll try my damnedest to let go
And I'll feel the wind as it carries me, carries me along
Through the valleys, through the deserts
To the song of another dawn, dawn of another song
Fall down to fly
You gotta fall down to fly
Fall down to fly
I found this today while reading the yahoo list for the L&L conference. The author is a woman named Gillian, who I had the pleasure to meet this year at the conference. There was some discussion about what radical unschooling was and she had such an awesome response that I had to save it, with permission, for all eternity here on my blog. For your reading pleasure:
What is Radical Unschooling?
The term "unschooling" was conceived to describe the idea that given a supportive and interesting environment we can trust people to learn all they need to know, that if we don't mess with it, their innate sense of curiousity and wonder will settle for nothing less than exploring a constant stream of fascinating interests and passions, that learning is natural, that we can trust that being supported in following one's passions will lead people to a complete repertoire of skills and information, that we can trust each person to choose that repertoire for themselves, follow it with great enthusiasm, and so lead a full and learned life.
The term "radical unschooling" simply expands that idea beyond education to one's whole life: that we can trust people, all people not just adult people, to know what is right for them in their lives.
To me the term "radical unschooling" has nothing whatesoever to do with school and isn't really all that radical or in-your-face either. It is just living life in equal partnership with every member of my immediate family no matter what their size or age, free from mandated learning or mandated just about anything else. Within the sweet-yet-complex balance of the needs of all our family members, we trust each other to decide for ourselves when to sleep, when and what to eat, what to do with our day, what our passions are and how best to follow them. We trust that embracing those passions with our full hearts will lead us down amazing paths and fill us with all we might ever need to feel, know, do and be. We question and think and respect and choose our own paths, fully supported by one another, encouraged to be our best selves, our wholest beings. We don't bow to convention or do what we "should" or what we think others think we "should". We try to choose feeling good over the righteousness of being right, we try not to knee-jerk "wrong" when one of us wants to pursue something unconventional, we try to think outside the box and find ways to explore together believing that there is something worth learning down even the most unlikely of paths. We strive each day, each moment, to suck the maximum joy out of every second - we believe that joy is something we can fully achieve regardless of the outward circumstances in our lives, that we can "choose" to open ourselves to creative ways of being joyful despite, or perhaps because of, the specific conditions of today. We believe that when we live in harmony with ourselves we can find an infinite number of ways to live in harmony with all those we hold dear, and that our lives can forever hold peace, joy, freedom, and wonder.
The RU parents I know don't just love their kids, they love to be with their kids, and their kids love to be with them. These parents have held connection and relationship with their kids, and each other, above all else. Regardless of their kids' passions and unique personalities, these parents have opened themselves to the myriad ways there always are to connect with one another, they have followed those opportunities for connection no matter what, and they have built amazing life-long trusting relationships with their kids as a result. To us, "radical unschooling" or "whole life unschooling" has nothing to do with schooling at all, it is a way of life that centers on respect and trust and love, giving fully and trusting that small people raised in the embrace of people who give generously, serve with love, and give respect before expecting to receive it, will find the freedom and support to grow into adults who know their own needs and feelings, are able to meet them without hurting others, and who embody great generousity, expansive love, and respect for all souls.
*********
I couldn't have said it better myself!! Thank you, Gillian!
"Ask not what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive . . .
then go do it.
Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive." Howard Thurman
"I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult."~E.B. White
Had to share this quote I found over at Julie's blog. This is my life. Which is why most days I end up reading blogs, making food for and otherwise assisting little people, doing some laundry and washing some dishes. And that is it.
I am in overwhelm from my own sense of....I don't know, high-mindedness. I want to do sooo much, too much, it seems, that I don't end up doing any of it. I'm tired of this phase in my life. I hope it is a phase. I need a change. I know I have whined about this before. Maybe now I will do something about it.
OR maybe I have just figured out how to BE, but not how to stop judging myself for not DOING anything. Ha! How ironic.
Success
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
I ran across this on the internet this week and just had to share. Most of you have probably seen it in one form or another. Who the author is is unclear, but what is clear is that this person really GOT it. They understood what life is all about. Notice there is no mention of money or stuff or fancy degrees or fame. By these measures, I am quite successful in life. And so are my children. Now. Not some day in the future when they grow up and get a job. Not only are they already successful, but they are set up for a life of great success because they know what is important. Maybe not if you were to sit them down and quiz them on it, but by how they live. They laugh every day, they impress people all the time with their minds, other children love them, they see beauty all around them and fail to see the faults in others. Not bad for eight and six, huh?
