All crimes, all hatreds, all wars can be reduced to unhappiness.
A.S. Neill 1883 – 1973, founder of Summerhill School.
Our two daughters have been raised in America, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands. We have touched on Montessori, Steiner, democratic schools and a variety of state-run public schools. Based on experiences of bullying and teachers who didn't really acknowledge the individual needs of our children, we have been home schooling more often as not.
Amira is now nearly 18 and Asha 15. They have been home schooled continuously for more than four years. We choose to unschool them. We teach no lessons and never have. Each of the girls taught themselves to read—Amira by reading quietly to herself while home schooling at age 6. Asha at 7 by listening to Dutch language tapes of nursery rhymes, and following along with illustrated books that came with the cassettes. Dutch is her first language and she's an auditory and kinesthetic learner.
Both girls are superb readers. We had no television until recently and even today all that gets watched is movies; although I must say Asha is grabbed by Disney Channel. We got our first computer two years ago. That was a conscious choice. While attending school in Holland a few years ago our children were the only ones in their school who didn’t have a computer at home. Amira was recently acknowledged by our district's mayor for having read more library books over a three year period than any other young adult in the area—several thousand books. She writes and has recently become the youngest person to complete the Proofreading and Editing course at the New Zealand Institute of Business Studies. She is currently in the final stages of editing my first book, In Search of Simplicity: A True Story That Changes Lives.
Our main educational inspiration these last years has come from the examples of two schools. The first is Summerhill, founded in England by A.S. Neill in 1921. In his inspiring book, Summerhill, the founder writes of his experiences. Neill believed that the happiness of the child was of paramount consideration and that this happiness grew from a sense of personal freedom in the child during childhood. He went on to say that most psychological disturbances in adults could be attributed to the suppression of the natural tendencies of the child.
Neill’s groundbreaking work greatly inspired the founders of Sudbury Valley School (SVS) in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1968. Their website is http://www.sudval.org/. The school, an old refurbished estate with extensive grounds and a lake surrounded by national forest is a place where people choose for themselves what they want to study or teach. SVS has pioneered the "one person, one vote" model of democracy in education. Children from three to eighteen attend. None are taught to read, yet every child learns to, some very well. You can do no better than to read Daniel Greenberg’s book, Free At Last, to gain a valuable appreciation for the pioneering work SVS has done. Its example is being emulated all over the world, with schools mushrooming in countries as diverse as Israel, the Netherlands and Australia.
I believe that when we are taught what we should learn, rather than choosing for ourselves, our ability to make informed, discerning choices atrophies. We become sheep and vote for leaders with charisma, rather than substance. I have spent my lifetime unschooling the conditioning of my youth. Travel and life in many countries has helped my eyes to see truth clearly rather than through the filter of conditioning. My wife and I want our children to grow into caring, compassionate adults who choose directions that recognize the unity of humanity and all of life. We have raised them to question everything including us. This can prove to be uncomfortable for a parent at times.
Our girls show no interest in university, contrary to some of their friends and their many adult role models. Like A.S. Neill, they see the value of practical knowledge and skills rather than the purely intellectual.
With the current trends in education to increased testing and assessment the danger is growing that new adults entering the working world will know only competition. Cooperation is the answer to most of the world’s problems; cooperation and education with heart. One day humanity will look back upon these times and wonder at all the competition in the worlds of schools, business, politics and sports. Our descendants will see clearly why we have so often chosen the path of war and oppression. And they will be glad for our example, and happy they have chosen for cooperation and peace.
Today, all over the world, education is moving towards more and more testing, more examinations and more qualifications. It seems to be a modern trend that assessment and qualification define education.
If society were to treat any other group of people the way it treats its children, it would be considered a violation of human rights. But for most of the world's children this is the normal expectation from parents, school and the society in which we live.
From http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/pages/
Monday, June 30, 2008
Beauty is in the Eyes of the Beholder
The wind blew shrill and smart,
And the wind awoke my heart
Again to go a-sailing o'er the sea,
To hear the cordage moan
And the straining timbers groan,
And to see the flying pennon lie a-lee.
Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 – 1894
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
In 1997 our family headed to the beach for the summer, to a place on the Karikari Peninsula called Whatuwhiwhi—pronounced Fatufeefee, not the way you were thinking.
Our ridge top rental possessed views of the sea in two directions. To the east—the long slow arc of Tokerau Beach and the sweeping curve of Doubtless Bay. Legend has it that when Captain James Cook arrived here on the Endeavour in 1770 he reputedly said, “This is doubtless a bay.”
To the west, across nobly grass covered dunes, lay a series of reed fringed finger lakes, haven to heron and gull, and glimpses of the white sand of Rangiputa. The old, low volcanic dome of Puheke stood guard to the west coast of the peninsula, north of the entrance to Rangaunu Harbour.
Our home for the summer was a two storey Kiwi bach, a functional, if not fancy, house designed for visits in the summer and on weekends throughout the year when the weather was favourable. The absentee owners maintained the basic garden of rough lawn and a few hardy evergreens that withstood the incessant winds of the hilltop.
The vista was superb, like a prince, the garden drab and colourless, a pauper in comparison. We loved that summer, swimming and walking every day. The girls would play on a makeshift swing suspended from a large, beach-side Pohutukawa, New Zealand’s red-flowering Christmas tree. We ate our evening meals on the windy deck on the north side of the bach, struggling to keep kelp granules in the salad rather than on our clothes. The sky would colour majestically as the day waned.
By autumn we knew we had to move on. The wind grew increasingly chilly, and found refuge inside our dwelling, like an unwanted guest. The house had no insulation or woodstove. It was not really an all-season home.
By the time we took refuge in what was to be our sanctuary for four years in nearby Peria Valley, I was craving a garden with colour. It was that summer by the beach that I discovered the importance of flowers in one’s life. Their absence made my heart fondly long for them. Love is beauty and beauty is truth. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
And the wind awoke my heart
Again to go a-sailing o'er the sea,
To hear the cordage moan
And the straining timbers groan,
And to see the flying pennon lie a-lee.
Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 – 1894
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
In 1997 our family headed to the beach for the summer, to a place on the Karikari Peninsula called Whatuwhiwhi—pronounced Fatufeefee, not the way you were thinking.
Our ridge top rental possessed views of the sea in two directions. To the east—the long slow arc of Tokerau Beach and the sweeping curve of Doubtless Bay. Legend has it that when Captain James Cook arrived here on the Endeavour in 1770 he reputedly said, “This is doubtless a bay.”
To the west, across nobly grass covered dunes, lay a series of reed fringed finger lakes, haven to heron and gull, and glimpses of the white sand of Rangiputa. The old, low volcanic dome of Puheke stood guard to the west coast of the peninsula, north of the entrance to Rangaunu Harbour.
Our home for the summer was a two storey Kiwi bach, a functional, if not fancy, house designed for visits in the summer and on weekends throughout the year when the weather was favourable. The absentee owners maintained the basic garden of rough lawn and a few hardy evergreens that withstood the incessant winds of the hilltop.
The vista was superb, like a prince, the garden drab and colourless, a pauper in comparison. We loved that summer, swimming and walking every day. The girls would play on a makeshift swing suspended from a large, beach-side Pohutukawa, New Zealand’s red-flowering Christmas tree. We ate our evening meals on the windy deck on the north side of the bach, struggling to keep kelp granules in the salad rather than on our clothes. The sky would colour majestically as the day waned.
By autumn we knew we had to move on. The wind grew increasingly chilly, and found refuge inside our dwelling, like an unwanted guest. The house had no insulation or woodstove. It was not really an all-season home.
By the time we took refuge in what was to be our sanctuary for four years in nearby Peria Valley, I was craving a garden with colour. It was that summer by the beach that I discovered the importance of flowers in one’s life. Their absence made my heart fondly long for them. Love is beauty and beauty is truth. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
United We Sing
The following words are from my heart and from the epilogue of my soon-to-be-released book, In Search of Simplicity: A True Story that Changes Lives.
http://groups.msn.com/InSearchofSimplicity/_whatsnew.msnw
Should you want to read more post your email address. Looking forward to hearing from you.
In peace,
John
I'm asking you to join this great renaissance of humanity and contribute to the awakening of this planet. There are not more than six billion souls incarnated on Earth at this time for nothing. It is time for us, for the little people of this world, to recognize our power, our brilliance, and our ability to affect change. As individuals, we have been like lone stunted rata trees eking out a fragile existence on the windswept sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands. These trees have been like islands on islands, attracting other flora and fauna to the shade and protection they afford. Eventually they have joined together in one connected mass of strength and diversity.
We individual humans are ready to do the same. Acting collectively we can harness the strength of our numbers and our diversity and become an irresistible force for change. All each of us has to do is find our own unique part in the Divine Plan. All each of us has to do is follow the coincidences that guide us along the path of our destiny. Then we are part of the collective awakening of humanity and of Planet Earth.
The following words came to me in the middle of the night in 2003 during a time in which I was recording a few songs of peace while living in the Netherlands. You are welcome to copy and distribute United We Sing provided you acknowledge the source.
United we sing.
And our voices are heard in the decision halls of the world,
And the intention of our song is felt,
As we the little people of the world see, finally, we do make a difference.
The physical violence stops and weapons are no longer made
As our governments follow Costa Rica's example
And no longer create armies of destruction.
Defense departments are replaced with peace departments.
And their efforts turn to worthy causes so that all of the world's people have enough to eat and have clean, comfortable shelter, and a safe place to live.
And we begin the reconstruction of our natural world
That has been so sadly abused and neglected.
We now have armies of children of all ages planting trees
And the deserts bloom.
As our voices resound around the world our hearts give a collective sigh of relief
And peace descends upon us.
And our children's children will speak of this time with wonder:
The time when the killing stopped;
The time when the meek inherited the Earth
United in song.
Peace in ourselves, in our families, in our schools and communities, in our countries and in the world is not just a dream, it is inevitable.
John Haines
New Zealand
.
http://groups.msn.com/InSearchofSimplicity/_whatsnew.msnw
Should you want to read more post your email address. Looking forward to hearing from you.
In peace,
John
I'm asking you to join this great renaissance of humanity and contribute to the awakening of this planet. There are not more than six billion souls incarnated on Earth at this time for nothing. It is time for us, for the little people of this world, to recognize our power, our brilliance, and our ability to affect change. As individuals, we have been like lone stunted rata trees eking out a fragile existence on the windswept sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands. These trees have been like islands on islands, attracting other flora and fauna to the shade and protection they afford. Eventually they have joined together in one connected mass of strength and diversity.
We individual humans are ready to do the same. Acting collectively we can harness the strength of our numbers and our diversity and become an irresistible force for change. All each of us has to do is find our own unique part in the Divine Plan. All each of us has to do is follow the coincidences that guide us along the path of our destiny. Then we are part of the collective awakening of humanity and of Planet Earth.
The following words came to me in the middle of the night in 2003 during a time in which I was recording a few songs of peace while living in the Netherlands. You are welcome to copy and distribute United We Sing provided you acknowledge the source.
United we sing.
And our voices are heard in the decision halls of the world,
And the intention of our song is felt,
As we the little people of the world see, finally, we do make a difference.
The physical violence stops and weapons are no longer made
As our governments follow Costa Rica's example
And no longer create armies of destruction.
Defense departments are replaced with peace departments.
And their efforts turn to worthy causes so that all of the world's people have enough to eat and have clean, comfortable shelter, and a safe place to live.
And we begin the reconstruction of our natural world
That has been so sadly abused and neglected.
We now have armies of children of all ages planting trees
And the deserts bloom.
As our voices resound around the world our hearts give a collective sigh of relief
And peace descends upon us.
And our children's children will speak of this time with wonder:
The time when the killing stopped;
The time when the meek inherited the Earth
United in song.
Peace in ourselves, in our families, in our schools and communities, in our countries and in the world is not just a dream, it is inevitable.
John Haines
New Zealand
.
Solstice Summary June 2008
We experienced a weekend of intensity at mid-winter. First on Thursday, June 18th was a Gemini Full Moon. This corresponded with an annual world wide event called World Invocation Day. For more information please click on the link below:
http://www.souledout.org/festivals/worldinvocday.html
The Great Invocation is a world prayer, based upon truths common to all religions. It has been translated into more than 75 languages and dialects and is used daily by tens of thousands of men and women of all faiths who wish to bring about right human relations and lasting peace.
On the Saturday we attended a special wedding of two dear friends in nearby Kaeo. Diane is in her mid-thirties, is blind from birth and is an amazingly talented musician and singer. Diane sometimes performs at our Ceilis and a few years ago she became the first New Zealander to win a prize in Scotland for traditional Gaelic singing. She’s also a Buddhist.
Colin is in his early seventies and spent a good part of his working life as an engineer for the British military, specializing in bombs. After immigrating to New Zealand he had a change of heart and now teaches didgeridoo in local schools, heals with crystals, works with dolphins and is an all round lovely man. He practises Wicca.
‘What’s that?’ you ask. Imagine the sort of ceremonies the ancient Druids would have performed at Stonehenge and Glastonbury to celebrate the solstices and other seasonal events.
The ceremony was touching and Diane brought tears to most eyes, mine included, when she sang of her love for Colin. For levity, Colin then adopted Diane’s budgie. It was a marriage like none other. Afterwards we attended a mid-winter Ceili, where we were treated to some items by some incredible visiting musicians. And, of course, we danced all night.
On the Sunday we hosted a Winter Solstice gathering at our place. As always, it was a wonderful, touching reminder of what’s important in life. Love and friendship was shared by people from all walks of life, a number of different religions and children from nine to seventy-five. Dave, the 75-year-young shared a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson that I’d like to share with you:
What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 - 1882. American essayist, poet and philosopher
http://www.souledout.org/festivals/worldinvocday.html
The Great Invocation is a world prayer, based upon truths common to all religions. It has been translated into more than 75 languages and dialects and is used daily by tens of thousands of men and women of all faiths who wish to bring about right human relations and lasting peace.
On the Saturday we attended a special wedding of two dear friends in nearby Kaeo. Diane is in her mid-thirties, is blind from birth and is an amazingly talented musician and singer. Diane sometimes performs at our Ceilis and a few years ago she became the first New Zealander to win a prize in Scotland for traditional Gaelic singing. She’s also a Buddhist.
Colin is in his early seventies and spent a good part of his working life as an engineer for the British military, specializing in bombs. After immigrating to New Zealand he had a change of heart and now teaches didgeridoo in local schools, heals with crystals, works with dolphins and is an all round lovely man. He practises Wicca.
‘What’s that?’ you ask. Imagine the sort of ceremonies the ancient Druids would have performed at Stonehenge and Glastonbury to celebrate the solstices and other seasonal events.
The ceremony was touching and Diane brought tears to most eyes, mine included, when she sang of her love for Colin. For levity, Colin then adopted Diane’s budgie. It was a marriage like none other. Afterwards we attended a mid-winter Ceili, where we were treated to some items by some incredible visiting musicians. And, of course, we danced all night.
On the Sunday we hosted a Winter Solstice gathering at our place. As always, it was a wonderful, touching reminder of what’s important in life. Love and friendship was shared by people from all walks of life, a number of different religions and children from nine to seventy-five. Dave, the 75-year-young shared a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson that I’d like to share with you:
What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 - 1882. American essayist, poet and philosopher
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