Ahh. Revolucion. Taking your ball and going home. Has it come to this?
I used to think, or rather, I fancied myself a fighter. I had a few pet causes, but who doesn't in college? Now...who has the time? In groups that we inevitably find ourselves, I have found that my fight is gone. When I find myself in a situation that I cannot support, or defend, more and more I find myself withdrawing from the whole group. My husband will disagree because he still gets an ear full from time to time, and he's convinced revolution soon follows me. (I tend to think it's a strong Germanic streak that doesn't like being told what to do).
Could that be the catalyst of my homeschooling adventure? I sure didn't think that the public schools were where my kids needed to be - academically or spiritually, but I didn't want to fight the system. I didn't have the time or the energy. All my energy has been wrapped up into these four little people. To fight the fight, of say changing the face of public school, I would have missed out on watching them learn. I would have missed out on them. They are now my cause.
I think my revolution is in the home. (If you've seen mylaundry pile couch you would have thought there had been a revolution in the house). But really, in today's world, the home is revolutionary. It's counter to everything that we're fed through the mass media and modern convention.
There are some people who I wonder why they ever had children - they seem so unjoyful about that situation, but for those who have chosen to really be in their families, I encourage them whenever I can. They are the revolutionaries. They are fighting the system from their own dinning room tables. Whether they have no children, or seventeen, those people who have decided that which really matters is the people around us - those are the revolutionaries.
So, as I have written this, I have thought that I had no fight left in me. I've just realized that my fight is not gone, but rather it's a new one - one that you'll not read about in Glamour or in Newsweek. It's fought by living in families where compassion, selflessness, generosity and forgiveness are learned. Those are virtues that can change the world.
I used to think, or rather, I fancied myself a fighter. I had a few pet causes, but who doesn't in college? Now...who has the time? In groups that we inevitably find ourselves, I have found that my fight is gone. When I find myself in a situation that I cannot support, or defend, more and more I find myself withdrawing from the whole group. My husband will disagree because he still gets an ear full from time to time, and he's convinced revolution soon follows me. (I tend to think it's a strong Germanic streak that doesn't like being told what to do).
Could that be the catalyst of my homeschooling adventure? I sure didn't think that the public schools were where my kids needed to be - academically or spiritually, but I didn't want to fight the system. I didn't have the time or the energy. All my energy has been wrapped up into these four little people. To fight the fight, of say changing the face of public school, I would have missed out on watching them learn. I would have missed out on them. They are now my cause.
I think my revolution is in the home. (If you've seen my
There are some people who I wonder why they ever had children - they seem so unjoyful about that situation, but for those who have chosen to really be in their families, I encourage them whenever I can. They are the revolutionaries. They are fighting the system from their own dinning room tables. Whether they have no children, or seventeen, those people who have decided that which really matters is the people around us - those are the revolutionaries.
So, as I have written this, I have thought that I had no fight left in me. I've just realized that my fight is not gone, but rather it's a new one - one that you'll not read about in Glamour or in Newsweek. It's fought by living in families where compassion, selflessness, generosity and forgiveness are learned. Those are virtues that can change the world.
1 comment:
This is good. However, I must admit that I support public school. Why? Because it is of the people. I definitely agree with you that the home should be the base for revolution. But a base, or foundation, is just that: something to be built upon, not confined too.
Now this is only my own, semi-informed opinion. I'd love a response.
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