For the the Sake of the Child: Education

The Five Freedoms

The freedom to see and hear what is here, instead of what should be, was, or will be.

The freedom to say what you feel and think, instead of what you should.

The freedom to feel what you feel, instead of what you ought.

The freedom to ask for what you want, instead of always waiting for permission.

The freedom to take risks in your own behalf, instead of choosing to be only "secure" and not rocking the boat.

- Virginia Satir (reknown family therapist)

This page is about childhood, the education of children, and what children need from us as parents, teachers, and educators.

A few questions we hope to address:

• What do children need from us as parents, teachers, and educators?
• What educational rights should children have, if any, and why?
• What defines a healthy childhood environment?
• What crucial elements create happy, healthy, adjusted, adaptable, competent human beings?
• What crucial elements define your decision to homeschool?

These stories, commentary & vignettes offer a view into how and why we live life without school.

Vignettes

Crucial Elements:

• learning by following my heart and by doing
• feeling accepted and welcomed
• engaged in meaningful work
• peaceful surroundings
• having my private space
• a strong sense of self
• feeling loved
• participating in enjoyable physical activities
• enjoying a healthful lifestyle
• feeling in love with life
• feeling safe
• knowing I make a difference

- Shay

Stories and Commentary

Crucial Elements, by Shay

I was lucky to have an unconventional youth, during which short periods of my life were defined largely by who I was and what interested me. These were my halcyon days, upon which I still look with pleasure.  Some time ago, I made a brief list of the elements that were crucial to these idyllic periods....

Children Have a Right to an Education, by Marsha

Children have the right to an education that fits their unique individual needs, that is full of joy and exploration and free from coercion and stress.  Adults have learned that we all have different learning styles and varied strengths and weaknesses.... 

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Comments

[Tracy W]

"The freedom to say what you feel and think, instead of what you should."

So if what your child feels and thinks is racist, they should be saying that?

[Robin]

Thank you for your question. Virginia Satir is the author of the quote. She was a reknown and highly respected family therapist. Here's my take on it: emotionally, mentally unhealthy "secrets" make people sick as do healthy expressions of life that are surpressed by an unhealthy controlling environment. You hide an unhealthy emotion or thought, in the closet of your own mind, it will not have the opportuity to be addressed and healed, given a caring, healthy environment. The freedom to say, "I feel this way or that way" is not the same freedom to use that information to harm another human being or to purposely make life more difficult for them. In the context of this page, we are also talking about the spectrum of human feelings and thoughts which can be "negative" or "positive." The postives are easy... and flow more readily in an open environment where all are free to express their reality with respect. The "negatives" also require a healthy environment grounded in the concept of mutual respect. Simple and more common examples might be: Feeling: "I don't like doing math." Response: We explore solutions together which can include the possiblity that the math is not necessary today or that the math curriculum is not a right fit or taking a math break might be helpful and so on. To specifically address your question: If my child thinks or feels racist, we talk about it and explore that, and because my child felt free to tell me what he thought, we can address it. If I shame his thinking, he will probably not feel so free to share his thoughts, positive or negative, with me in the future. Would you? At the same time, if I tell him or imply to him that it is OK to express himself without thought of others, in a way that is hurtful to others, and do not make efforts to expand his perspective or to address feelings and thoughts beneath, then I am condoning racism.