claire.horsley08

I recently attended a political meeting in which lots of people were getting very passionate about a future which may never eventuate. Many had adopted this political ideology as the guiding principle in their lives - almost like a religion! So I was reflecting this morning (while vacuuming) that if I feel, as I do, that I have adopted unschooling as the guiding principle in my life, how is it different from a religion or ideology?

Firstly, I think that while an ideology offers people some perceived control of the future, unschooling works in the here and now. I do not need to depend on revolutionary social changes to live out my unschooling principles right now in this house with my partner and kids. All unschooling promises for the future is more of what I'm putting in right now - trust and love and wonderful exciting learning will build up to more trust and love and learning.

Secondly, unschooling offers me a solid set of principles which guide my day-to-day actions without dictating any one particular course of action. Before I found unschooling/peaceful parenting, my parenting was a mish-mash of ideas I'd picked up here and there, some beneficial, some not. Now I have a coherent philosophical outlook that helps me tackle any situation which may arise, and guides me towards actively choosing to do things which respect and nurture my kids.

Finally, unschooling has given me a sense of peace and self-confidence that I have never experienced before. As Sandra put it so succinctly, 'I love my life with my kids!'