Friday, November 18, 2005

Our faith and unschooling


I am on several unschooling email lists, two of which are faith specific.

One of these is the Radical Christian Unschoolers list - it is not that we are radical Christians but more that we are radical unschoolers who are also Christian.

What is meant by the term radical? The email list blurb says " On this list there will be no talk of curriculum, partial enrollment, spanking, chore charts, coercive limitations, forced respect, or anything else that doesn't jive with radical unschooling. " The blurb also quotes Galatians -

Gal 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." ~NIV

Recently, there was a discussion on this list about our faith and our unschooling. Can the two mix? Is there a dichotomy there, somewhere?

A poster said that she found that as she unschooled more, she learned more about her faith. And vice verse. Someone else pointed out that, if this is where God has lead us, then we need to listen to His prompting, in the gifts and talents and personalities of our dc, and not necessarily look to curriculum .

And this is where I am - acceptance. Acceptance of where and who we are, and moving along with the help of the Sacraments.

Today we went "op shop shopping" - found some good bargains with books, Christmas books and cards, clothes. We peeked in an antique store and admired the old tins. There was an original Mortein fly spray pump, the kind that was used before aerosal sprays were invented. We tried this out and marvelled at the technology of the times.

We went to Koorong Books, a Christian book and music store, and bought an animated version of The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe. I think we are becoming Narnia obsessed, in preparation for the new movie. We keep looking at the Narnia movie books, at the website, we have re-read several books in the series, we have found out info about the new Narnia game for PC/gaming systems.

And T got an early birthday present - a PS2. It was on sale, secondhand, the newer slimline version, and it seemed a bargain too good to be missed! Hey, an early birthday present is fun.

We also bought another DVD in the Gurardian Angels Force series and G K Chesterton's book "Orthodoxy". A and I love Chesterton and this is one we haven't read.

We had lunch out and talked about making healthier selections. And about our favourite foods ( curry for several of us!). J and A are at part time work at Kumon right now and T and Anny are watching the Angels DVD as I type. Anny is also doing mazes and crossword puzzles at the same time. G is working on his models and watching the DVD, too. And talking about who will be the bad guy in the film. We all like to do two things at once, it seems.

This is where we were lead today - and it is a day full of experiences and learning and reading and family time and game playing and movie watching. It doesn't look like a typical school day but that is where we are.

Radical?

2 comments:

Cindy said...

I think the radical part is essential because it shakes us up and helps us find the true-ness of our lives, our faith, our relationships.

Jesus was also labeled a radical, if I remember..?

Cindy

Leonie said...

Cindy,

Thank you - your words reassure me! Sometimes I worry about being too radical!

Leonie