“It should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant.”
-Matthew 20:26
I’ve been asked many times to take more credit for our Allschoolers group than I want to. The power of the group is in its members. We’re a varied group of parents who were looking for connection in an era of social distance. We knew in our guts that we are not supposed to live at distance from one another, but in loving embrace of our fellow humans.
There’s very little for me to do as a leader. I help set dates and locations and bring wood for our winter fires. I get far more out of our weekly meetups than I put in. The moms and dads I’ve met in the group are my best friends. We check in with each other and it’s rare that our Wednesday meetups are the only time we see each other in a week.
I’m empowered by my service to Allschoolers. They are support, inspiration, and encouragement on the difficult journey of home education. Someone told me today that they’d be lost these last two years without the group. I can only return the sentiment and echo the gratitude.
It is not an expressly Christian group, but everyone is free and encouraged to proclaim their passions. We share religious and secular resources and it is the most inclusive social group I’ve been blessed to take part in. Soccer is close as far as diversity of backgrounds goes, but the common goal there is much simpler than the complicated considerations and opinions of home educators. We’re individuals raising individuals. The layers of specificity demand compassionate listening and vulnerable communication.
I can’t say why it works so well. There aren’t a bunch of rules and there is almost no structure (I suppose that makes sense as the founders are unschoolers). It is our beautiful anarchy.
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