Monday, September 24, 2007

this and that

Haven't had a whole lot of time to blog lately. I started my yoga teacher training class last week, which is three days every week so that has been eating a lot of my time up. It's exciting to be moving towards my goal of being a yoga instructor. My kids are handling it really well and being very supportive of my endeavor. Martin has been going to work as late as he can get away with, which usually only leaves them alone for two hours on those three days. I will be teaching classes by the middle of December so it is pretty short-lived.

It's been an interesting month, getting used to being in the public school system and being on their schedule. Lots of adjustments, some good/some bad. Kev went on a rant last night about how school is such a waste of time. He feels like some parts of it are fun but that it is just such a waste of good time. He doesn't have time for the things that he is passionate about, those things that are relevant to him as an individual, those things that he is actually going to do something with. He also feels like he really hasn't learned anything new. Even in his English class, which is his favorite class (next to Japanese), he feels like he isn't really learning anything; he is writing some awesome essay's but not really getting much feedback on his writing. He just gets A's but doesn't really know what he needs to work on to write better. He also is realizing that the social part of it, the part that he thought was going to be the biggest plus, is really not social at all. He is finding out that you can't really socialize during school and that he had a much richer social life out of school. At this point he knows he is not going to continue in the public school but he isn't sure whether he will pull out after semester or after the year. I think he would like to pull out now but he says that he wants all of those people, that thought it was going to be such a great experience for him, to know that he did a year and that "it sucked".

The funny thing is that he has 4 A's, 1 B, and a C (in math). He has never had formal schooling before this; so much for the notion that you have to "prepare kids" for this sort of thing. Apparently, unschooling has equipped him just fine! I think grades are a joke anyway, but that is a subject for a different day:) I think school is unatural for many, many reasons but again, that is a subject for another day. Kev definitely thinks that it is not real life, in fact he made the comment the other day, "If people think that school is a mimic of the real world, why not just LIVE in the real world? Why bother with school if you can just LIVE?!" Amen, it's what I've been trying to tell people but not everyone gets it!! At least he knows now what it is all about right?

4 comments:

piscesgrrl said...

Doesn't it just make your heart swell that at this young age, he totally **gets it**? That is a testament to how well you all have lived the unschooling life - this experience only solidifies what you've believed all along. That he's fine just the way he is, that he can succeed in both places as he *chooses*, and that he knows who he is and what he needs and can see through the you-know-what. Bravo to him, bravo to you for supporting him in this experience, and bravo for unschooling!

Ren Allen said...

He's discovered that truth we already knew, that just about ANYTHING you are interested in learning, can be more economically learned outside of an institution.

Tell him to cut his losses and get back to a real life NOW! Screw what people think. I know, I know...he'll figure it out. I hate to see him waste his precious time not being happy though.

School is a big fat lie....the worst kind of joke that exists.

Heidi Snavley said...

And he knows that, is totally disgusted by all of it, and complains all the time. He says that if he gets out now all of those anti-unschoolers will say he didn't give it enough time to REALLY experience it in its entirety. I really don't think he will go back after Christmas break. We'll see.

Unknown said...

Looking forward to see what the wise young man decides! Whatever it is, it'll be just right for *him*. What a lucky guy to have you as his loving Mama!