Friday, January 29, 2010

Music and Life and Sudbury Schools

CARTOONARIFFIC!
















Check out this animated short with spoken word by Alan Watts. Animation by Chris Brion and Todd Benson, produced by Trey Parker and Matt Stone (of South Park fame - sure do love those guys!).

Here is the link to the video on YouTube

I came across this video when I was first learning about Sudbury model schools. My daughter, Tobin, was almost 5 years old and had not quite arrived at the kindergarten cut-off according to the city when she asked me, "Can I please go to school now, Mommy?"

I jumped (more like tentatively sqeaked) feet (no, big toes) first into searching for options for my not-quite-school-ager. I began to notice a protective feeling churning in my belly. As it began to bubble up, so did the petri dish of emotions and memories I had apparently repressed since I was in school. Fear, doubt, insecurity, pressure, boredom, judgments, comparisons, college, SAT's, No. 2 pencils, impossible standards, imposed morality, dress codes and permission slips.

Not for my little girl, I insisted.

Then I saw this video which was posted on Katuah Sudbury School's website at the time. I felt for the first time since beginning my search for Tobin's school that I could breathe a little easier. They get it, I thought. The "let down," the "hoax," exactly as Alan Watts had described, was exactly what I instinctively wanted to protect my daughter from (Watch the video to see what I'm talking about).

I was put to even greater ease on the day of our interview. Tobin, usually shy and quite clingy, waltzed right in as if she had been there a dozen times before, and began playing with some students her age.

To this day, Tobin continues to ask me, "Can I please go to school now, Mommy?" and you wouldn't believe it, but actually protests when I arrive to pick her up at the end of a school day at Katuah Sudbury.

1 comment:

  1. Nice start to the blog Lindsay! I love that clip too. I remember when we started Mia in public school and it was difficult to get her there on time a lot of mornings, because she just wasn't that excited about going. And so we were getting demerits (or whatever the called them) and were being chastised by the school principal. One day Mia came home and said they just won't let her read when she wants to there. That was it for me. Her Public School tenure lasted about 3 months I think. Now it is like you said, her and her sister hate missing school and don't want to leave at the end of the day. What a wonderful place we have for our children to grow and learn with their little family of friends.

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