the goals
[email protected]
In a message dated 1/13/03 1:44:26 PM Central Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
<< Okay, so where can I find a concise (or, heck, wordy!) report or list
of the goals of unschooling. Laid out plain and simple, so I can get
it! LOL >>
Well, I agree with Sandra, that it's simply my goals as a parent. With
unschooling I am not trying to "mold" or "shape" anyone, so their goals are
what I care about.
But here's a little essay I wrote sometime back when the question was posed
"What do you hope your children will have gotten from unschooling when
they're grown?"
Which to me is a different question than what my goals are:
This was originally a post at unschooling dotcom email list:
What do you hope your kids will have gotten from unschooling by the time
they're ready to move on from home?
Ren's reply:
My main goal was that their sense of self would be so strongly intact that
the world could not rob their joy, their uniqueness and thier natural
curiosity.
Beyond that.....
That the status quo will not matter so much to them as what is good and
right. That they
would have a deep seeded knowledge in their hearts that they are intelligent,
capable human beings and can learn anything they wish. A sense of wonder so
awesome
that they will never quit seeing how magical the world truly is. Have
idealism
tempered with realism. Spirituality that flows natrually and freely from a
loving heart and
posses kindness rare. The ability to follow their dreams and achieve their
goals,
whatever those may be.
And how do you plan to help that along?
It humbles me to think about this. I came out of High School battered
emotionally, not knowing who I was or what I realy wanted. And fifteen years
later, here I am
spouting off ideals for my children that I couldn't have dreamed of at the
time.
I will help that along by becoming a better person myself.
By reading , watching , searching and regaining that sense of wonder, which
my children have helped me with already.
By delving deep into questions and not pretending I know more than them.
By being willing to set everything aside, change plans midstream and go off
in a new direction when necessary.
By listening carefully and responding appropriately.
By respecting these amazing beings I've been entrusted with and the inner
knowledge they already possess.
By dialoguing with them, these matters of the heart and showing love to the
earth and my fellow human beings.
By filling my home with books, movies, music, instruments, nature, toys, art
materials and whatever oddities my children bring home.
By taking them to the places they want to go and ones they never knew
existed.
By fixing them new and exciting foods from other countries and making trips
to the grocery store an adventure.
By making every day an adventure, by my attitude, every mundane chore or
daily activity sacred by how I approach it.
Healing myself has definitely been the most important step in assisting these
worthy individuals in their unschooling journey. I have learned much from
them
thank the heavens they came here to teach me.
Ren 5/02
Ren
"The world's much smaller than you think. Made up of two kinds of
people--simple and complicated.....The simple ones are contented. The
complicated ones aren't."
"Unschooling support at pensacolaunschoolers.com
[email protected] writes:
<< Okay, so where can I find a concise (or, heck, wordy!) report or list
of the goals of unschooling. Laid out plain and simple, so I can get
it! LOL >>
Well, I agree with Sandra, that it's simply my goals as a parent. With
unschooling I am not trying to "mold" or "shape" anyone, so their goals are
what I care about.
But here's a little essay I wrote sometime back when the question was posed
"What do you hope your children will have gotten from unschooling when
they're grown?"
Which to me is a different question than what my goals are:
This was originally a post at unschooling dotcom email list:
What do you hope your kids will have gotten from unschooling by the time
they're ready to move on from home?
Ren's reply:
My main goal was that their sense of self would be so strongly intact that
the world could not rob their joy, their uniqueness and thier natural
curiosity.
Beyond that.....
That the status quo will not matter so much to them as what is good and
right. That they
would have a deep seeded knowledge in their hearts that they are intelligent,
capable human beings and can learn anything they wish. A sense of wonder so
awesome
that they will never quit seeing how magical the world truly is. Have
idealism
tempered with realism. Spirituality that flows natrually and freely from a
loving heart and
posses kindness rare. The ability to follow their dreams and achieve their
goals,
whatever those may be.
And how do you plan to help that along?
It humbles me to think about this. I came out of High School battered
emotionally, not knowing who I was or what I realy wanted. And fifteen years
later, here I am
spouting off ideals for my children that I couldn't have dreamed of at the
time.
I will help that along by becoming a better person myself.
By reading , watching , searching and regaining that sense of wonder, which
my children have helped me with already.
By delving deep into questions and not pretending I know more than them.
By being willing to set everything aside, change plans midstream and go off
in a new direction when necessary.
By listening carefully and responding appropriately.
By respecting these amazing beings I've been entrusted with and the inner
knowledge they already possess.
By dialoguing with them, these matters of the heart and showing love to the
earth and my fellow human beings.
By filling my home with books, movies, music, instruments, nature, toys, art
materials and whatever oddities my children bring home.
By taking them to the places they want to go and ones they never knew
existed.
By fixing them new and exciting foods from other countries and making trips
to the grocery store an adventure.
By making every day an adventure, by my attitude, every mundane chore or
daily activity sacred by how I approach it.
Healing myself has definitely been the most important step in assisting these
worthy individuals in their unschooling journey. I have learned much from
them
thank the heavens they came here to teach me.
Ren 5/02
Ren
"The world's much smaller than you think. Made up of two kinds of
people--simple and complicated.....The simple ones are contented. The
complicated ones aren't."
"Unschooling support at pensacolaunschoolers.com
Heidi <[email protected]>
thanks, Ren. This is a keeper
Heidi
Heidi
--- In [email protected], starsuncloud@c... wrote:
> In a message dated 1/13/03 1:44:26 PM Central Standard Time,
> [email protected] writes:
>
> << Okay, so where can I find a concise (or, heck, wordy!) report
or list
> of the goals of unschooling. Laid out plain and simple, so I can
get
> it! LOL >>
>
> Well, I agree with Sandra, that it's simply my goals as a parent.
With
> unschooling I am not trying to "mold" or "shape" anyone, so their
goals are
> what I care about.
>
> But here's a little essay I wrote sometime back when the question
was posed
> "What do you hope your children will have gotten from unschooling
when
> they're grown?"
> Which to me is a different question than what my goals are: