What does it mean if . . .

[dragons in the flower bed]

. . . the night after you give what amounts to a go-ahead to start enrolling the children in a little democratic school run by a bunch of hippies, you dream that you found the loveliest denim jumper you had ever seen, and it fit perfectly, and someone else insisted on buying it for you as a gift?

 

I have been a homeschooler since 1995, and for sure, I will be one again. I may be one again a week after the children have their trial period at the democratic school, in fact. It remains to be seen if school helps us manage given my health or hinders everything that much more. Believing as I do that school is useless at best, I braced myself to feel, after school enrollment, that I was not living my own life, that we were not us.

 

This morning I caught a glimpse of myself and my fifth grader, who has been exclusively my student, reflected in a window. He was tall and blond and pretty, grimacing in concentration as he played Dance Dance Revolution. I could just see my second grader behind him, curled up with a book, small and sharp. There I was too, same me as always, curls escaping out from behind a headband made of alphabet fabric, and cord jeans and T-shirt and complete lack of makeup. I looked at us, knowing we weren't homeschoolers (by my own uptight standards), and I felt . . . just fine. I still liked us. There was nothing fundamentally different about the three of us.

 

True, the nature of this small school is such that many families have made homes inside of it, or literally next to it. I can volunteer there as much as I like. Also true that I have no intention of stopping our current course of studies. The school will function mostly as daycare. Still, I expected worse.

 

I'm silly, I guess. I'm probably offending everyone who has their children in a school. I've identified as a radical school-is-bad-end-of-story radical for ever, for my entire adult life and half of my childhood. I still do believe that. So how do I end up with so much peace? Maybe the shock has not worn off. I am glad of it anyway.

 

The denim jumper in my dream was very pretty, indeed. It had fine embroidery and right on a rack nearby were the perfect shoes and bracelet to wear with it.

[rookie]

One of my very favorite friends always reminds me, "It's all good."

 

I am glad it is all good with you too. :)

[Nakia]

Ya know, one of my best friends used to be a hard-core forever homeschooler. But in January, she enrolled her son in a school much like what you described. The funny part is that they are very conservative Christians, so this school is nothing like what she ever dreamed she would put her kid in. And guess what? They all love it!!! She is still schooling her other two, but for now, it's working and everyone is happier than they have ever been.

 

I think the denim jumper thing is funny! You sure don't seem like the denim-jumper-wearing kind. :lol::lol:

[dragons in the flower bed]

I think the denim jumper thing is funny! You sure don't seem like the denim-jumper-wearing kind. :lol::lol:

 

I have owned three. I own one now, and I think it'd be perversely funny to wear one on the first day of school. If I didn't have a team of anarchist teachers to impress, I probably would.

 

:tongue_smilie:

 

Usually I stick to denim pants, though. It has to be a pretty special occasion to get me into a skirt.

 

I hope I won't be a school convert. I'd have a lot of crow to eat.

[Nakia]

I have owned three.

 

:tongue_smilie:

 

Usually I stick to denim pants, though. It has to be a pretty special occasion to get me into a skirt.

 

I hope I won't be a school convert. I'd have a lot of crow to eat.

 

I am shocked!! I would never picture you in a denim jumper. I owned one once, years before I even had kids. :D

 

My friend is having to eat tons of crow. But she is taking it like a champ. Just do what's best for your family. If I lived closer to the school her son goes to, I might consider it. It is a great place!!

[dragons in the flower bed]

I don't really wear them. I put them on, look at myself in the mirror, and decide to wear something else. I may have worn one to go hang out with my mother and her friends once. So please carry on not picturing me in a denim jumper.

[missmoe]

I was you once--(minus the denim jumper dream!). I now have two kids in school, and three that will most likely follow in the years to come. Life happens, things change, one learns to be happy.

 

Don't wear that denim jumper around your mom. Someone may take a picture of you in it and then decide to use it in a slide show at your FIL's 60th birthday party! Ask me how I know!!!:glare:

[gaillardia]

I feel guilty, I'm wearing a cotton sage-colored jumper with seed beads and embroidery on the upper part. It has a slit up the bottom on the back and three buttons on each side. I kept thinking when I went out: I hope I don't see anyone I know. I am tired of wearing jeans and capris all the time.

 

I see plenty of women with lots of kids and all the girls and the moms all wear (gulp) denim jumpers. Why?

Very interested in the school you're talking about, what else can you tell us about it? I am thinking it is actually your home, and you live in it, and you consider yourself a hippie (:tongue_smilie:I don't care, why would I care?).

People look at what I've presented about myself over the few months I've been here and I have no idea what anyone thinks of me and I sort of care.

I confess, I have a denim jumper with a collar, it buttons down the front.

I have a denim skirt with a denim belt. Please don't hurt me.:001_huh:

[dansamy]

I own a lot of denim skirts. They are way more comfortable than my denim jeans. I haven't owned a denim jumper since sometime in the late 80s/early 90s.

[Matryoshka]

There is a possiblity that I may someday put my kids in school, but there is not even the remotest possibility that I will ever buy, much less wear, a denim jumper.

 

However, I do own a fair amount of denim pants, capris, and skirts. :D

[dragons in the flower bed]

Very interested in the school you're talking about, what else can you tell us about it? I am thinking it is actually your home, and you live in it, and you consider yourself a hippie (:tongue_smilie:I don't care, why would I care?)

 

It sits in an impoverished neighborhood, has for thirty years, and the school population is very racially diverse. No one is turned away for an inability to pay tuition, but the school only has sixty or so student spaces, and they have pre-k to eighth grade classes.

 

I suppose the neighborhood immediately surrounding the school is undergoing gentrification, the very first stage where the anarchists and hippies and artists move in because the property values are so very low, and they fix things up. But you can't tell yet. It just looks poor. Some of the hippies raise chickens. There's urban farming and retrofitting for sustainability going on there. As far as I can tell, there's a little tribe built up around the school, with parents of students being very involved and teachers knowing the families well. That's what I meant when I said it was possible to create a home within the school. I could be wrong; I've observed from the outside. This is what it looks like from where I am.

 

The school seems to be run by student council. The children who attend are more or less unschooling although I gather they make some kind of plan for themselves. I guess the kids choose group projects and field trips and figure out how to raise the money to complete these. There are no grades or tests. There seems to be a lot of, "get the city kids out to the country," with regular trips.

 

I have heard also that there are shelves of dinky workbooks and cheesy early readers, that what passes for learning math and language arts there is thoroughly off-putting. :ack2: I am sure I will be compensating for that at home.

[justamouse]

If I could have that, they would go. In a NY minute. Sounds wayy awesome with a side of awesome sauce.

[dragons in the flower bed]

If I could have that, they would go. In a NY minute. Sounds wayy awesome with a side of awesome sauce.

 

:) We are academics at heart, bookworms, we want to read and write and research all day. This school I don't think is like that.

[JenC3]

:) We are academics at heart, bookworms, we want to read and write and research all day. This school I don't think is like that.

 

Which is probably why it is a good fit for your kids to get exposed to other things and since you plan on studying at home they don't have to worry about what they do in school and enjoy the fun.

[Nakia]

It sits in an impoverished neighborhood, has for thirty years, and the school population is very racially diverse. No one is turned away for an inability to pay tuition, but the school only has sixty or so student spaces, and they have pre-k to eighth grade classes.

 

I suppose the neighborhood immediately surrounding the school is undergoing gentrification, the very first stage where the anarchists and hippies and artists move in because the property values are so very low, and they fix things up. But you can't tell yet. It just looks poor. Some of the hippies raise chickens. There's urban farming and retrofitting for sustainability going on there. As far as I can tell, there's a little tribe built up around the school, with parents of students being very involved and teachers knowing the families well. That's what I meant when I said it was possible to create a home within the school. I could be wrong; I've observed from the outside. This is what it looks like from where I am.

 

The school seems to be run by student council. The children who attend are more or less unschooling although I gather they make some kind of plan for themselves. I guess the kids choose group projects and field trips and figure out how to raise the money to complete these. There are no grades or tests. There seems to be a lot of, "get the city kids out to the country," with regular trips.

 

I have heard also that there are shelves of dinky workbooks and cheesy early readers, that what passes for learning math and language arts there is thoroughly off-putting. :ack2: I am sure I will be compensating for that at home.

 

Very interesting. With more info, it doesn't sound much at all like the school I referred to earlier. I'd like to see how they do it though.

[elegantlion]

I suppose the neighborhood immediately surrounding the school is undergoing gentrification, the very first stage where the anarchists and hippies and artists move in because the property values are so very low, and they fix things up. But you can't tell yet. It just looks poor. Some of the hippies raise chickens. There's urban farming and retrofitting for sustainability going on there. As far as I can tell, there's a little tribe built up around the school, with parents of students being very involved and teachers knowing the families well. That's what I meant when I said it was possible to create a home within the school. I could be wrong; I've observed from the outside. This is what it looks like from where I am.

 

The school seems to be run by student council. The children who attend are more or less unschooling although I gather they make some kind of plan for themselves. I guess the kids choose group projects and field trips and figure out how to raise the money to complete these. There are no grades or tests. There seems to be a lot of, "get the city kids out to the country," with regular trips.

 

 

 

The bolded part sounds like a old fashioned country school in the city. The 2nd paragraph sounds like a tame version of Camp Half-Blood. :D

 

~Paula (who has worn a short denim jumper, back in 1995 maybe. It was above my knee)

[KristineinKS]

I, for one, am thoroughly jealous! I've read so much about democratic/free schools & would send my kids (2 of them anyway) in a heartbeat if we had one near here. I think, for the right type of student, it would be an utterly amazing opportunity. I wish your family all the best with this!

[gaillardia]

I suppose the neighborhood immediately surrounding the school is undergoing gentrification, the very first stage where the anarchists and hippies and artists move in because the property values are so very low, and they fix things up.

There was something about this kind of inner city renovating on NPR at least a year ago. The hippies, the artists...

But you can't tell yet. It just looks poor. Some of the hippies raise chickens. There's urban farming and retrofitting for sustainability going on there. As far as I can tell, there's a little tribe built up around the school, with parents of students being very involved and teachers knowing the families well. That's what I meant when I said it was possible to create a home within the school. I could be wrong; I've observed from the outside. This is what it looks like from where I am.

 

The school seems to be run by student council. The children who attend are more or less unschooling although I gather they make some kind of plan for themselves. I guess the kids choose group projects and field trips and figure out how to raise the money to complete these. There are no grades or tests. There seems to be a lot of, "get the city kids out to the country," with regular trips.

 

Sounds like Massachusetts, I seem to recall unschools there, but can't remember anything else...

 

I have heard also that there are shelves of dinky workbooks and cheesy early readers, that what passes for learning math and language arts there is thoroughly off-putting. :ack2: I am sure I will be compensating for that at home.

Well, that last part, dinky workbooks and cheesy early readers...I'm sure they'd take donations of all kinds, ey?

I am so paranoid of lead poisoning in the paint and pipes; asbestos in old homes.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Well, that last part, dinky workbooks and cheesy early readers...I'm sure they'd take donations of all kinds, ey?

 

Oooh, donations are a good idea. I can't rush in and fix things though. Have to sit back and observe and do what they ask me to do and prove helpful for a good while first.

[LibraryLover]

Here's what I got to say about this:

 

So forget the worries of this life and let his love shine through

And it'll be alright, everything'll be all right

Jump over all the obstacles that stand in front of you

And it'll be alright, everything will be all right.

 

 

;) For a few years now, I've been a combo of hs & s. I like it just fine because it works for my family.

 

In the end, this is not about us, it's what is best for our particular family members and what is available to us.

 

I have never thought of my identity as any one thing...be it homeschooler or homebirther or east coast commie liberal....:D

 

We are all a combination of many things, of many experiencies. This is how I like it, and I feel grateful to be on the journey.

Edited August 25, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Mrs Mungo]

. . . the night after you give what amounts to a go-ahead to start enrolling the children in a little democratic school run by a bunch of hippies, you dream that you found the loveliest denim jumper you had ever seen, and it fit perfectly, and someone else insisted on buying it for you as a gift?

 

 

I'd say it seems you are perfectly comfortable with either role, even if you are a bit reluctant to choose.

[Saille]

Maybe the jumper was a gift to your inner homeschooler, to remind her that she is not forgotten just b/c you're currently schooling outside the home.

 

I have been wondering all day whether this change involves a geographical move, teleporters (in which case I want one too) or just a looooong commute.

[Rosie_0801]

What is it with this denim jumper business? I looked on google images and they look like dresses to me. Is this some kind of weird Americanism?

 

:confused:

Rosie

[Hathersage]

What is it with this denim jumper business? I looked on google images and they look like dresses to me. Is this some kind of weird Americanism?

 

:confused:

Rosie

 

It is an American sterotype of what a homeschooling Mom should wear, mostly notably the christian vareity.

[Rosie_0801]

It is an American sterotype of what a homeschooling Mom should wear, mostly notably the christian vareity.

 

 

I've hung about here long enough to know that much! I don't get why it is called a jumper instead of a dress.

 

Rosie

[Mrs Mungo]

I've hung about here long enough to know that much! I don't get why it is called a jumper instead of a dress.

 

Rosie

 

We don't use the word "jumper" to mean "sweater." A jumper is a specific type of dress.

[Lakeside]

I've hung about here long enough to know that much! I don't get why it is called a jumper instead of a dress.

 

Rosie

 

Here is one definition I found of a jumper:

"a sleeveless dress resembling an apron; worn over other clothing".

[Hathersage]

I believe its called a pinafore dress in other parts of the world.

[dragons in the flower bed]

I have been wondering all day whether this change involves a geographical move, teleporters (in which case I want one too) or just a looooong commute.

 

Ah. Sorry. I have not been wanting to jinx it by announcing a move before the boxes are in the new place. I can say, though, that we are not going to commute or teleport.

Edited August 25, 2010 by dragons in the flower bed

[MariannNOVA]

I don't think you are silly.

[HRAAB]

If there were such a school near us, I would enroll my twins in a heartbeat. Of course, their normal academics at home would continue as usual. I would love for them to have that experience. If it didn't work, no harm done. These schools have always fascinated me.

 

No denim skirts or jumpers for me. Just jeans or long, flowy, multi-colored hippie skirts for me.

[justamouse]

:) We are academics at heart, bookworms, we want to read and write and research all day. This school I don't think is like that.

 

Hmmm. Well then.

 

 

I dunno.

 

Wait and see? I can see how the school would be ... unappealing looked at like that. We're the same.

[Amy loves Bud]

. . . the night after you give what amounts to a go-ahead to start enrolling the children in a little democratic school run by a bunch of hippies, you dream that you found the loveliest denim jumper you had ever seen, and it fit perfectly, and someone else insisted on buying it for you as a gift?

 

I have been a homeschooler since 1995, and for sure, I will be one again. I may be one again a week after the children have their trial period at the democratic school, in fact. It remains to be seen if school helps us manage given my health or hinders everything that much more. Believing as I do that school is useless at best, I braced myself to feel, after school enrollment, that I was not living my own life, that we were not us.

 

This morning I caught a glimpse of myself and my fifth grader, who has been exclusively my student, reflected in a window. He was tall and blond and pretty, grimacing in concentration as he played Dance Dance Revolution. I could just see my second grader behind him, curled up with a book, small and sharp. There I was too, same me as always, curls escaping out from behind a headband made of alphabet fabric, and cord jeans and T-shirt and complete lack of makeup. I looked at us, knowing we weren't homeschoolers (by my own uptight standards), and I felt . . . just fine. I still liked us. There was nothing fundamentally different about the three of us.

 

True, the nature of this small school is such that many families have made homes inside of it, or literally next to it. I can volunteer there as much as I like. Also true that I have no intention of stopping our current course of studies. The school will function mostly as daycare. Still, I expected worse.

 

I'm silly, I guess. I'm probably offending everyone who has their children in a school. I've identified as a radical school-is-bad-end-of-story radical for ever, for my entire adult life and half of my childhood. I still do believe that. So how do I end up with so much peace? Maybe the shock has not worn off. I am glad of it anyway.

 

The denim jumper in my dream was very pretty, indeed. It had fine embroidery and right on a rack nearby were the perfect shoes and bracelet to wear with it.

 

I'm so happy that this is working out for you. We are on Day 2 of the Public School Experiment, and it looks very unlikely that we will make it to Day 3.

 

I'm not radically offended. I'm right there with you, and if I had a funky little democratic school nearby we'd probably try it, but all we have is Christian Academies. I'm a Christian, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work for us.

 

I hope this school year is a fabulous success for all of you!