Monday, June 15, 2009

Fiction, mentors, unschooling




At the heart of Opportunity is Engagement. Stay passionate, involved and interested in life and in learning. Your enthusiasm will transfer to your kids.

From Guerilla Learning by Grace Llewellyn.

This is how I try to live. Passionate. Engaged. Joyful. Interested.

Even in times of sorrow , in the midst of upset.

Like Pollyanna; like Pippi Longstocking; two of my childhood heroines. One could even say mentors. If fictional characters can be mentors.

Just breathing isn't living!

Instead of always harping on a man's faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of his rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his REAL self that can dare and do and win out!
From the original Pollyanna book by Eleanor Porter.

'No, that's nothing to pine for,' said Pippi. 'Grown-ups never have any fun. All they have is a lot of dull work and stupid clothes and corns and nincum tax.''It's called income tax,' said Annika. From The Best of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren.

I certainly have my share of nincum tax...but I hope my life is more than dull work. I hope I model enthusiasm. And learning.

Engagement.

2 comments:

Ladybug Mommy Maria said...

My kids can smell my enthusiasm and it drives them crazy sometimes...how would you recommend countering that? Could it just be their ages? 12, 11, 9,8?

Leonie said...

I try to just be myself and naturally interested and enthusiastic - sometimes the kids get it and sometimes not but at least I am being true to myself. And who knows when or where or how the enthusiasm will be catching, you know?