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    theresa


    Theresa Lode or, simply “T”, had her world turned upside down and inside out when her son was diagnosed with ADHD and a few other goodies. Her choice- follow the doctor's orders....or trust her heart and delve into the world of Free Range Education. She chose the latter...

    Curious? Want to know more? Read on ...

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The nonsense of earning a living

Posted on September 7, 2010 by therealmotherlode

Leave to my good friend and mentor, Chris Davis to drop this bomb of a quote on Facebook:

“The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery….The true business of people should be to go back to school and think
about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came
along and told them they had to earn a living.” — R. Buckminster Fuller

Here’s some bits and pieces of the conversation that followed. (It’s too long to post in its entirety.  If you wish to read it click here.)  Kathy Clement is another jewel of a mentor.  Her help and wisdom guided me through my early days of homeschooling.

Theresa Lode: Chris that sounds wonderful but….what does the alternative look like?

Kathy Clement:You need a wealthy patron to live that life. I think the window of opportunity for this exercise is during childhood. Because we focus on school instead of education, it doesn’t happen… But we do have to earn a living…. Sometimes I think our generation is so focused on the pursuit of happiness that we miss out on experiencing the joy of the present moment. The generation that invented the concept of finding oneself is still looking.

Chris Davis: I partially agree. The job Adam and Eve was given was to work in a garden God had already planted. The question I ask is, “Did their provision come from their employment or from the Lord?  Can a person’s employment merely be what god has given him to do separate from God’s provision?

I pose these questions because, when we tie a person’s provision to his employment, we create a situation in the mind where a person thinks his needs will be met only through his job rather than being able to believe what Jesus said, “If you seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, all ‘these things’ will be given to you”….

Can employment merely be that which God has created for a person to “tend”and then that person can look to God to give the person what he needs?

In school, individuals are constantly given the message that their future bliss depends on what kind of job they will end up with and they are promised that education will find them much better jobs which will entitle them to a much better life. What if what God wants them to do has nothing to do with a good life or lots of stuff?

Kathy Clement: Agreed. However, if you take this point of view, you have to ask yourself some pretty serious questions. Like, do I want to marry? If so, you need to find an individual who will be joyful in sharing that type of journey. Then, do I wan…t to have children? Because if you do, you have a responsibility to provide them with basic care. And that calls for resources…

I think of Paul. He had a trade. He was a tentmaker. Probably not his passion, but I bet he made great tents. His trade was a vehicle for him to interact with his passion….preaching the Gospel. I think this is a great model for our lives.

I think of my mom, probably the most truly godly person I have ever known. She found joy in the most mundane task. She lived in an almost streaming relationship with the Lord. He was her passion, and that passion spilled over into everything she did whether it was putting up applesauce, teaching Sunday School or managing the small town credit union.

So, while I think we are saying the same thing, I am saying it from this angle: The greatest gift my mother gave me was the model of living passionately. That’s what I think we need to give to our children. And to do that, we have to model it. When that fire has been lit, it consumes everything around it. This is what you have been saying ever since I first met you.

Our children are not projects to be successfully completed. They are relationships for us to nurture and enjoy. You’ve had it right all along. Relationships first. Skills second. Academics last.

Go read the rest of this great conversation…there’s much more!

Filed under: education, homeschooling, Individuality, parenting, Personal development, Public schooling, The Mother Lode Project | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

Is ADD/ADHD fatal?

Posted on May 4, 2010 by therealmotherlode

I think that’s a reasonable question to ask since ADD/ADHD is considered a medical condition by many people.  Like other “diseases”, it has diagnostic criteria, medication protocols, support groups and a host of therapies available for the afflicted.

I know, I know.  I’ve watched too many House, M.D. episodes but the first thing that comes to my mind when I receive a diagnosis is….Is it fatal?  Is this really just dandruff or heartburn?   Or is this a symptom of some horrible auto immune disease that will lead me, flake covered and burping, to an early grave?

So what about ADD/ADHD?  I think it’s fair to ask about the mortality rate.  Of course, I’d have a hard time finding any data quantifying death by daydreaming (ADD- inattentive type) or by jiggling themselves to death. (ADHD, heavy on the “H.”)

Hopefully you realize by now I’m speaking tongue in cheek.  Of course ADD/ADHD doesn’t kill.  Not in the physical sense anyway.

But I do contend it does cause death.  Kids that are told repeatedly, from the time they’re old enough to bounce off the walls, that they are defective.  That they must sit still and pay attention.  That their handwriting’s sloppy and fer crying-out-loud, clean up this mess would ya?

There’s something that dies in a kid when they are constantly bombarded with a steady stream of negative messages.

Yes, I know living with ADD/ADHD presents some challenges.  Yes, I know they have a tough time in school. And yes, sometimes they DO need expert assistance with some of the issues.

But I’m going to say it over and over again….we need to ask ourselves how much of the “symptoms” are realized because these kids are put into an environment that is not healthy for them.

Fun useless factoid: My friend Marci hates these.

I wouldn’t expect a Russian olive tree in Montana to grow in Florida.  Nor would I expect a Royal Palm tree to survive one week in Montana’s northern climate.  They would both die.

Can't quite picture this growing atop the Continental Divide.

A typical classroom environment, something I’m not particularly nuts about anyway, is especially detriment to the child with ADD/ADHD or other learning differences.  Even the best teacher in the world has system driven limitations that impede her efforts in helping these kids.

It’s a losing proposition all the way around.

What about a different approach to their education?   How about one in which a child has the opportunity to explore their passions and direct their energies into topics they find fascinating?  What about one where teachers become facilitators and encouragers instead of test monitors and compliance police?

How different would it be if parents decided their kids were uniquely wired and a special gift to the world? (Because frequently these kids grow up and become movers and shakers.)

What if we let these kids lay down their pencils and get their hands dirty with real world education?  (Let’s face it; some of them will NEVER have decent handwriting anyway.)

I get pretty jazzed thinking about what happens in my heart when I reframe the challenges.

And instead of a “mortality” rate, ADD/ADHD could become the only “disease” process that can have an outcome of greater life and endless, wonderful possibilities.

Filed under: ADD/ADHD, education, homeschooling, Individuality, Labels are for Soup Cans, parenting, Personal development, Public schooling, Special Needs' Kids, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Why teaching is ‘not like making motorcars’

Posted on March 21, 2010 by therealmotherlode

I absolutely love Sir Ken Robinson’s thoughts on education.  Using the factory approach to educating children—the approach used today—is a broken, outdated model that needs to be razed. This video is only a few minutes long and I urge you to watch it.

With the dramatic changes in the job market, it is incumbent upon parents and educators to rethink how we’re doing school if we’re going to prepare our kids for a happy successful future.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

A Daniel update- the adventure of education

Posted on December 1, 2009 by therealmotherlode

Rare is the day that goes by that I’m not grateful for the opportunity to home school Daniel.  Especially since I now see up close and personal how public schooling is done these days.  (The name of the game is pass the test.)

For kids with learning differences, I can think of nothing more damaging that trying to squeeze them into a box and insist that they meet the same academic standards as a college bound kid with his sites set on architecture or engineering.  But that is precisely what No Child Left Behind is doing.

NCLB will never be able to recognize and quantify the genius of a good auto mechanic or a plumber or an artist.  And it is the folks wired with these talents that will be hurt the most.

But back to Daniel.  His day looks so different from a typical kid his age.  He meets with mentors on a regular basis.  Today, he is at his internship learning business math under a former math teacher/Junior Achievement leader. Mr. Carl tells me Daniel is doing a great job on the books. The customers LOVE him too.

Don’t start the kid on a conversation about telephone switches unless you have a LOT of time on your hands.  And frequently, he’ll emerge from his workshop to share his marvel over some gadget.  (I feign what I hope is an intelligent look and make happy noises.)

One of the other cool things about this kid is he’s not afraid to reach out and meet someone new.  Just yesterday, he received a thick Priority Mail envelope from a fellow in NY.  “Oh, that’s my new friend that Mr. Jim (his mentor) told me about.  He’s a phone expert too and sent me information of my switchboard.”  Daniel had picked up the phone and introduced himself to the fellow and voila, this guy sends a very kind letter telling Daniel he is at his disposal to teach him all about switches.

And then….get this.  Just the other day Jay told Daniel, “We need to save about $500 in order to get you some oscilloscopes.”  (You know, those electronic things with squiggly lines.)

The next day:  Daniel comes bursting in the door.  He is holding not one, but two, count ‘em, TWO oscilloscopes.  A neighbor, a former sound engineer, was moving and had no room for them and set them out by the dumpster. The one works perfectly fine….the other needs some work.  (I’m confident Daniel will be able to fix it.)

When I think of the kids that are right now sitting, bored out of their minds with irrelevant factoids being dropped into their brains….I feel sad.

I’m growing more convinced that if we run after what we were intended to do in this life, doors are going to open.  But it means letting go of the so called security of the system.  Can you imagine a world of kids that have been raised to pursue and explore their areas of interest?  It’s an exhilarating thought.

Daniel teaches me every day what an adventure life can be.  Especially when it comes to education.

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. -William Butler Yeats

 

 

Filed under: education, homeschooling, Labels are for Soup Cans, Personal notes, Public schooling | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

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