Category: Learning Lifestyle

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It Has Been A Privilege

This is an expansion on the thoughts in another post, The Dreaded “Privilege.”

Homeschooling is a privilege. Public school is a privilege. Private school is a privilege. That we live in a place where these options are available is a rare privilege in history.

I was supposed to be homeschooled. Life circumstances and the homeschooling laws in 1980s Pennsylvania kept it from happening.

I didn’t learn this until I was 35 and told my parents I was choosing home education for my son.

Although my parents chose public education, they didn’t pretend it was something it wasn’t. It was in opposition to our religious choices. It was in opposition to our holistic lifestyle. It was in opposition to many of the ways we lived.

My privilege was seated in honest observation of the circumstances of our decisions.

To point at someone else’s choice and call it “privilege” is to not understand the complexity of their circumstances. It is a judgment on another’s life employing an infinitesimal amount of information.

It is not helpful to pretend homeschool is 100% wonderful and it is not helpful to pretend public school is 100% wonderful. We must be honest about both if we are to live in truth and make the best decisions. Truth is uncomfortable.

I have close friends with families who have children in both arrangements, my girlfriend’s daughter is in public school, and most people I know have their children in public school. I am compassionate towards all choices, I am not shy about mine, and I believe strongly in selling home education as a lifestyle.

These things can exist together in a loving way. I’m not talking about “tough love” or “telling it like it is” without empathy. I’m encouraging everyone to celebrate the privileges of their individual situations in order to inspire and educate.

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Do Black Belts Recite Soliloquys?

I butchered half a line of Shakespeare while being smothered and it felt like a victory.

Disclosure: The link below is an affiliate link, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

“Think of the universe,” ran through my mind as I was under a brown belt mount and could feel the last minute of the match counting down. There was no space there. I needed some. I needed all the space. I needed the universe. Panic is scary. All I had to do was tap and I could make it go away. I could be safe and breath fresh air. But that’s not the goal, not even one of the goals. The goal is to put that panic in its place. “Hey, Panic, fuck off, we’re safe here, we can breath. Check this out.” Slow inhale, slow exhale. “Fuck, okay, that was tough, maybe you’re right, maybe we went full white belt this time and we’re gonna get hurt.” Slow inhale, slow exhale. “Think of the universe.”

The space is getting smaller and the Panic gets a voice, “Shakespeare? You can’t even get Shakespeare right?” “The universe has a lot of air. More air than I’ll ever need. I can breath all that air right now. I’m not being choked. If you get your way we will get choked.”

This was in the third match and fifteenth minute of rolling. It wasn’t enough to just breath, I had to be active in my defense and try to get out of an impossible situation. I didn’t get out, not nearly. I also didn’t tap to Panic or allow a submission. I went on for two more matches.

Till then, think of the world.

That’s Cassius’s line, but I needed more than a world of air.

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The Dreaded “Privilege”

The start of the new school year brings the inevitable clash of homechool life vs. school life.

The homeschool community is now twice the size it was when I posted this on social media.

In its doubled population, homeschooling has also doubled its diversity. Many families use both homeschooling and government schooling.

It’s not an insult to schoolers to celebrate the advantages of homeschooling. I went to 13 years of public school and my father was consistent in his criticism of it. I was sent there with eyes wide open and learned enough to break out of the system for my own family’s sake.

Recently I read a few comments about what a privilege it is to be able to homeschool. I agree. It is the greatest privilege and honor to be able to take on this difficult task. I imagine the schooled family also thinks it is a privilege to have two incomes, to see the services their taxes go toward, and to not be repeatedly asked to explain their educational choices.

We each have infinite privilege, the only limit is in our imagination. Be confident in your choices and be happy for those who are confident in theirs.

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Much Ado

With all the mentions of Shakespeare here I’ve been remiss in sharing about my older son’s work behind the scenes on Pages Alive Theater‘s production of Much Ado About Nothing.

He was a student director and gained accolades from the head of the program, parents, and actors. His responsibilities demanded a calmness and focus that I don’t see when he’s on stage. He looked very much like he does when he’s competing in jiu-jitsu, moving with intentional, singular focus.

At the cast party he got an award for being an undercover superhero. Cool and unassuming, while tackling grand tasks.

He’s ready to be back on stage. I believe he will carry this seriousness into his next role and I can’t wait to witness the results.

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31 Days of Lego: Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban

In this scene from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban sneak towards a murderous plot. The first two drunken fools are distracted by a clotheline of fancy articles while Caliban loses his patience and rages against them.

We recently saw Delaware Shakespeare‘s production of The Tempest and I was inspired to recreate this scene.

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Drag Them to Shakespeare

I’ve gotten a little lazy when it comes to taking my boys to see Shakespeare. We did almost no prep before seeing Delaware Shakespeare‘s production of The Tempest.

First, DelShakes does a great job of introducing the characters and plot. Second, my sons have attended, performed in, or stage managed over a dozen Shakespeare performances. They have a comfort level with the language and rhythms that I would never have expected from 11- and 13-year-old boys.

Although my younger son was not enthusiastic, we were joined by my girlfriend and her theater-loving daughter and had a wonderful time during the last show of the run.