Thursday, July 28, 2005

In a perfect world

A recent post on Barb's blog about a shared experience with a map got me thinking.
What would our educational experience be like in a perfect world?

In a perfect world learning would be as natural and easy as following a trail through the woods. It would be a journey you take because you want to, not because someone said you must. You choose the path and just go.
Some times you go for the thrill and excitement of discovering what is around the next bend or the over top of the next hill. Sometimes it's more about the little things you pick up along the way.
Sometimes it is about the motion, the progress forward-breaking through the brush no matter how thick. And sometimes it is about sitting quiet and still and really drinking in one special place.
Perhaps you follow the same familiar path, noticing new things each time you revisit. Then again, new paths are always exciting-not knowing what's ahead.
In a perfect world our education would be like that. A hike through the woods. A journey of choice, of pleasure, of discovery, of joy...

Cliche? Yes. But wouldn't it be nice?

2 comments:

barbara said...

There is no perfect world unfortunately but I think we can at least offer a better environment in which to experience the journey you describe so well. That is the beauty of homeschooling. The hard part is trusting ourselves to know this truth even when it goes against the authority "experts". Think about anything you have wanted to learn more about in your adult life and how you went about acquiring that knowledge. My experiences have been your hike in the woods analogy - which I absolutely love :) Why should our children's experiences be any different just because of the fact that they are children?

I am going to print out your beautiful description and then when I start to veer away from this in our own family journey I will come back and read your wise words and be reminded why we began this journey in the first place.

Thanks once again Theresa.

MarkCi said...

Is your email still lapazfarm at earthlink.net? If so, Superboy has mail.