The work of children is play
“Play is the work of the child.” ~ Maria Montessori
Whether that is coloring with crayons, writing with chalk, playing with blocks or (all the parents will now gasp with me), watch tv. I put the tools out, and she discovers and play as she desires.
Letting her learn via play and exploration, taking my hands off, and letting her grow on her own, without me intervening the whole time. This has been hard for me, what is extremely interesting to watch, is, that it has been hard for Lady J as well. She comes to me looking for me to tell her the next activity or to engage her in every activity. I have been smiling and saying: no, you have it, You can do! or no, go and Try, try again.
Photo credit: Tina Floersch on Unspalsh
Lady J only went to daycare for 1 year in half- close to 2 years, she has been out 1 month, and we are detoxing and deschooling our mindsets on how our parent-child relationships will be, as well as, learning what our facilitator-learner relationships will be like. The more I learn about homeschooling the more I want her to learn how to create her own pathways and life. My desire for her is to be the author of her story and designer of her own destiny.
“The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult.” ~ Maria Montessori
I, Shante, admit that I am wound pretty damn tight, I am on a schedule at all times, and create order in chaos just so I can function and thrive. However what I am learning by raising a 3 year old aires, is that sometimes you must let the rhythm lead you and let go and flow with beat of the day.
Photo credit: Jens Lelie on Unspalsh
There is more that one way to become an educated and learned individual
“Anything that is worth teaching can be presented in many different ways. These multiple ways can make use of our multiple intelligences.”
Howard Gardner
I have been spending the last few weeks learning about Deschooling, Charlotte Mason, Worldschooling, traditional homeschooling, classical and Eclectic, project based learning, co-ops, and Unschooling. Due to me having a little one, I was already a little familiar with Montessori and Waldorf but I have even been deep-diving into those as well. As I continue to research and learn, I definitely would like to unschool and worldschool my daughter as she gets older. I want her to drive her educational experience which will allow her to determine her own destiny.
“The child who has felt a strong love for his surroundings and for all living creatures, who has discovered joy and enthusiasm in work, gives us reason to hope that humanity can develop in a new direction.” ~ Maria Montessori
I am not raising a worker, but an innovator
My parents were born during Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement, and unfortunately the message from them is put your head down, do a good job at work and keep you mouth shut. You don’t start trouble, rock the boat, and how dare you look for another job, while working for a stable company. Are you trying to set yourself up to be jobless.
I was laid off in 2009 from a good and stable company, it was a small mid cap company that treated everyone like “family”. What I learned from that experience:
- Is companies are not families they are entites designed and set up to make profit for shareholders. How they they make money may vary, whether it is a service or a product, at the end of the day, the goal is profit, no matter what they tell you about changing the world blah, blah, blah.
- If a company is stating that we are all family, it is time to create an exit strategy from that paternalist entity as quickly as possible.
There are several of the capitalist companies that we know to today function in this manner, there are a new group of companies playing by the old play book, making the company “feel like a home”, or telling workers they are just “one big family”. The leaders are Daddy and they want you to let them lead(CEO and board of directors), and momma manage the household needs (middle management) and you the children are to listen to your parents and do what they say, because they know best (the people that actually do the work that makes the company money). I don’t want that life for my daughter and that is what the schooling system in America sets her up for.
However as machines take over jobs from factories to real estate, putting her head down, shutting up and just working is not an option for her; hell, it really is not an option for me. We are living in a different age, one where you will need to be a creative force in this world to thrive.
8 Types of Homeschools (Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, Montessori, and More!)
By Jessica D. Lovett Whether you’re just starting to homeschool, or are an old pro, learning about different ways to…
homeeducator.com
For now we are choosing to use a eclectic method, that is HEAVILY play-based until we “deschool” her completely. We will be setting up more stations, that will hopefully increase her curiosity and desire to wonder and wander. For those who are considering homeschooling I would love to know why you are leaning that way? If you are already homeschooling what methodologies are you using in your home?
Sources and Resources
Imagination age – Wikipedia
The Imagination Age is the period beyond the Information Age where creativity and imagination become the primary…
en.wikipedia.org
Eye on Education: Prussia model influences American public school system
Let’s hear it for the Prussian king Frederick the Great. Why? Well, most people may not be aware that America’s model…
www.dailyrepublic.com
Educate to Indoctrinate: Education Systems Were First Designed to Suppress Dissent
Public primary schools were created by states to reinforce obedience among the masses and maintain social order, rather…
today.ucsd.edu
U.S. enslaved by indoctrination sold as education
Government at all levels has failed the American people.
www.galvnews.com
The History and Results of America’s Disastrous Public School System | Mike Margeson, Justin Spears
While it’s almost universally understood that the American school system is underperforming, “reform,” too, is almost…
fee.org
‘Thinkers And Innovators’: Rita J. King On How ‘The Imagination Age’ Is Necessary For Humans To…
The ‘Thinkers and Innovators’ series explores the science and philosophy of the brain and mind with some of the world’s…
www.forbes.com
What, When, Why & How of Deschooling
The term “deschooling” arose over time as more and more public school students began the transition to homeschool. On…
www.time4learning.com
What is the Charlotte Mason Method? – Simply Charlotte Mason
The Charlotte Mason method is based on Charlotte ‘s firm belief that the child is a person and we must educate that…
simplycharlottemason.com
The case for unschooling
First-person essays and interviews with unique perspectives on complicated issues. It’s 10 am and my three school-age…
www.vox.com
Worldschooling: How to Start & How to Afford it
It has often been said that “the world is a classroom.” Some homeschoolers, however, take this adage quite literally…
www.time4learning.com
Worldschooling – Benefits, Real Stories, Curriculum, Resources + How to Afford It
Those of us who are interested in more natural ways of parenting often question traditional schooling methods. This is…
www.greenchildmagazine.com
Starbucks CEO’s Anti-Union Comments Straddle Line of Legality
Starbucks Corp. CEO Howard Schultz’s disparaging comments about workers’ organizing efforts escalated a lengthy battle…
news.bloomberglaw.com
Labor board rejects Amazon’s objections to union victory
Federal labor regulators will throw out Amazon’s objections to a labor union’s historic victory at one of the…
www.washingtonpost.com
4,000 Google cafeteria workers quietly unionized during the pandemic
Google is famous for its cafeterias, which serve its legions of programmers and product managers everything from vegan…
www.washingtonpost.com
Play Is Not a Stupid Waste of Time
“Child’s Play.” That’s what we call something pathetically easy, or dumb. But that’s just our Puritan Work Ethic…
letgrow.org
Op-Ed: The rise of tech unions shows workers reckoning with reality
This month, workers at an Apple store in Maryland voted to unionize, another signal that the labor movement is gaining…
www.latimes.com
Family Firms and Labor Relations
Family Firms and Labor Relations by Holger M. Mueller and Thomas Philippon. Published in volume 3, issue 2, pages…
www.aeaweb.org
Labor foe Schultz returns as Starbucks union effort grows
From the time he bought Starbucks in 1987 to the time he stepped down as chairman in 2018, Howard Schultz consistently…
abcnews.go.com
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5187600_Family_Firms_Paternalism_and_Labor_Relations
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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