Your Voice

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Learning about learning about...

The donkey-like teeth of my mind have been working a question for a few days now.  It's probably a question I am completely unqualified to answer and it feels like grizzle between my thinking teeth.  [A vegetarian metaphor would be that it feels like the tough, stringy bits in snow peas.]   Which means, of course, that I have to offer my best attempt at an answer.

I'm Late! I'm Late! For A Very Important Date!

This whole idea of "Late Reading" has surfaced in my sphere of consciousness quite a bit lately and I feel the need to talk about it.  "Late" readers.  Who decides what qualifies as an on time reader?  How do we know for SURE that age five is the absolutely perfect time for people to begin learning to read?  That any time after that is Late?

My Letter to The Minister

As we all know, The Village School is not exactly "text book". (Pun totally intended.) Having witnessed my dear friend go through a Colossal Struggle to register a playgroup for two to four year olds, I can safely say that registering this new progressive "strange" school will be slightly more challenging than a cake walk in the park.

So, I figured, why not go straight to the top? Get the reigning Minister of Education - The Honorable Mr. Desmond Bannister - to be a supporter of the school so he can, well, put in a good word for us. (Read: Tell them to approve the school and don't ask any questions because I said so.)

Been There, Done That

I'm sitting here "braising" - not quite stewing, this heat is lower but it's still getting the job done. But what, you may ask, am I braising about?

I can't seem to type a single sentence to talk about what's on my mind without holding down the backspace key because it's too plain or inflammatory. (Here's my final attempt:) What I really want to say is that some of what qualifies as a Good Education (here and also "there") is failing our children in ways much more far-reaching than we as a society are really capable of thinking about.

Raising Fun ...D ...s

I have the best idea I have ever had for a fundraiser for The Village School!

I was experiencing my involuntary early morning awake time a few mornings ago and tossing pebbles and dust around in my head for fundraisers. Next thing I know they started coalescing into an actual idea - a good one!

I was thinking that we could have some sort of "art for education" auction. Then I was thinking if I had 40 pieces of donated art that sold for a thousand bucks a piece, I'd have my forty grand right there. Then I was thinking it would be awesome if it were some sort of giant mosaic on display in a public space and then the individual pieces - which would still make "sense" on their own - would be sold. Then I was thinking, it would be even better if the pieces were then given to some place public... liiike.... a public school!!!

And Voila! My idea was born!

So it would be a community driven effort and win!-win!-win! for all involved. Here's how:

Gestating... Waiting.

The metaphor of gestation, labor and birth is an all too obvious metaphor for me to use; given the name of this blog is "Birth of a School".

So, I will use that metaphor to say that I am feeling like a first time mom; that is, like I might just be pregnant forever (forever... forever... ever...). I haven't blogged for a shameful three weeks because of a combination of writer's block and plain old nothin doin.

Well, not nothing, I have been home/un-schooling my three children (two by birth, one by spirit) and working part time at the playgroup. That's a part of it too. I have been feeling trashed dot com most nights and I've been known, over the past week or two, to moan that "I neeeeed to bloooooog" without really doing anything like opening the lap top, or switching from facebook (*shame*) and actually punching keys and making words and sentences... until Now!