Hi Everyone. This is intended to be a working document. By that I mean, its content will change as I grow in my understanding and as I receive input from others.
The intention and inspiration for this article is: I talk about how the current system is not working to support children in a healthy way. I will list my main concerns below. Until this morning, I didn't think it was my responsibility to define what to put in its place, other than respect for children and their unique needs. However, I am aware that many parents truly need a place to send their kids so that they can have a break and pursue their own interests, and that this place needs to be "free". And, so, in order to get people on board with the idea of respecting their children's unique needs, AND giving them time to do what they need to do (be that self-care, work, whatever), then I think I need to start building a framework of what that could look like.
Here is a bit about me:
I definitely get projects off the ground. According to my Astrology, Mayan Destiny, Wealth Dynamic, Soul Contract, Human Design, and Gene Keys, I am truly here to lead, create something from nothing, and have great success, as long as I work with others, and don't try to do it all alone, as I have done it alone in the past, and that is not what I am here for this time around. I have all the luck I need in my pockets, and tons of skill, intelligence, qualifications, and outside of the box thinking, to back it up! That said, I am also very stuck in my way of thinking. This is clearly described in this aspect of my Astrology (and echoed in my CliftonStrength Finder):
This means that it can be hard to change my mind. That doesn't mean I am not listening, that means, bring something good to the table and I am happy to consider it. Sometimes my initial reaction is one of offense, but I consider it later, but I don't really have patience to integrate poor ideas. I know "there is no such thing as a poor idea, especially in a public system", but remember, this is MY page, MY article, and I am not required to listen just because you want to share your point of view. We all have limited capacity on time and energy, and mine is more limited than most. I am not saying my door is closed, but, if what you want to share with me that is mainstream or lower consciousness, its quite possible that I may lose my patience and not be able to take in all the information you might like to share with me.
Please note, the above is a sextile relationship between Uranus and my midhaven. The app from which I borrowed a screenshot offers a very similar description for a square relationship between Uranus and the midhaven, but I assure you a sextile and a square are not the same!
And this is why it is important for you to learn real astrology, which I do co-teach.
A sextile means the energy flows easily in this direction, too easily (my outside of the box ideas, Uranus, meet the public eye, MC, very easily). A square means the energy has trouble flowing, this can be good, because it means if anything breaks through a square, it must be solid. Buyer beware. Use your own judgment. I am all about full disclosure!
Finally, I need to "ping" things off others, sometimes with an exchange of words and direct energy, sometimes merely putting it out there and feeling the general regret come back at me. So, I may change my mind, I may offend, and then retract, I may over share in order to get this response back (and it doesn't even have to involve a specific other), though it may. And I am not going to judge myself for this, or for any other way that I am built!
This is something I have danced around for a while: Should I change to suit "you" or should I allow myself to be me. And, given that self-acceptance is key, then I can not change to suit "you", but I can allow space for myself to grow in my own time.
Enough about me!
I share the modalities above simply so you can see there are many ways for you to look up and understand the unique psychology and life path for your child, so that you can see they are doing ok, just the way they are, so you don’t have to worry or try to mold them into who you think they should be.
Also, here are a couple articles to consider, in line with what Sacha says in the videos linked below, learning disabilities and sensitivities are protection to keep people out of the wrong areas of study and to keep them in touch with their unique path and wisdom. I was lucky that this was me, and the kids nowadays are the same. Please consider this before you try to make them fit society, they come baring gifts and if you can not see that, you put their life at risk:
As you will see in the 3rd article above, I am having to follow my own advice and respect my 8.5yr old who is not reading independently yet, does not want treatments from me to help connect his brain centers and more, and trust that he is using his mind for other great tasks, that can not be done by a programmed computer...
Here are some of the problems I see with the current school system (and parenting):
1) Too much control!: We are not trusting kids to drive their own life and to be able to collaborate with respect, identify the skills they need, and create a whole person, without prescribing for them what a whole person must look like. I do not like this entirely structured 12-14 year plan that all kids must go through, year after year, highly regimented, for the accomplishments to be met each year, and evaluated by others.
2) We have NO right to evaluate children, unless they ask for our input!: I don't think report cards or grade should exist at all. I think kids can ask for feedback on how an external person feels they are doing, any concerns that external person may have, and then they should be able to rebut and say "oh you forgot about this, and yeah you're right about that" or "no, I disagree" etc, and all of these responses should be fine with no consequence. All they asked for was a second opinion, not the ultimate truth!
Here are the components/objectives that I would include in "my ideal school":
1) Kids can attend from whatever age to whatever age: The intention for the school is for kids to have safe space to go to develop their ideas on who they want to become. Once they know who they want to become, they are free to leave and explore that option. They can return as needed to refine their idea and get more training etc.
2) Teachers would not teach in the traditional way, they would support: This means that the teacher has no agenda other than to support the kids in their mission and to make sure kids are treating each other with kindness, to model good self-care, and guide the kids to resources, and sometimes teach, only when asked.
3) There would be no set classrooms: Like the play-based kindergarten culture, the rooms would start pretty empty at the beginning of the school year, and the kids would fill them as they see fit. One room may end up being for robotics, another health, another social action, etc. If a topic got so much interest that the room could not hold the students who want to be a part of it, then a second room would opened with the same topic, and each room would morph as they see fit.
4) No separation by age, unless this is for safety: Younger kids could work with older kids, so long as everyone is happy. If there are kids who feel intimidated by bigger kids (either from their own perspective, or from the bigger kids’ behaviour), then of course they could request to stay with younger kids. Likewise, if there are bigger kids who are annoyed with the younger kids, then of course, they could request to stay with older kids. But, the intermingling and the advancement of students would never be held back by age, and certainly not by adult opinion on who works well together, or who is easier "controlled" when separated from someone else, etc. Although, if this is truly the case (not about control, but that certain people work better apart), this type of arrangement could be made, in a respectful manner. i.e., X really works better when they have space from Y, or X needs Y to respect his/her requests for space so X can regain his composure. This is always a fair request, when driven by the kids, with possible open suggestion from the adults/teachers.
5) The school would be staffed in a variable way: More teachers as needed, specific topics as needed, teachers let go as needed (and what I mean by this is: if the teacher is not serving a purpose or is simply not cut out to do the job, or needs to take time off for self-care, they are exited from the system, because keeping them in only breeds illness in the system). This doesn't mean the school is heartless and doesn't care, and fires and hires on a dime. But it is a real system. Only teachers who are needed and providing the right kind of support need to stay. The rest need to find their place (or health) elsewhere, for the time being. Like the kids, they can return if they are requested or if they would like to be considered as being in a better place to serve, after some time away. The school is there to support the kids, more than the staff. That said, the school supports the staff, with compassionate leave, so that there is minimal bitterness and everyone is supported to heal and become strong, aligned, and self-empowered again. If someone is particularly sought after as a teacher, maybe he/she can show others what it is that they do, that others seek, so it’s not one against the other, but everyone supporting us all to be our collective best!
The above was written 3-4yrs ago (with some edits/updates), published on Jan 26th 2021. Still a work in progress, but it is time to start talking about this before they reopen the schools, imo.
As adults, it is tempting to think we know best, and to want to structure this (and how it should flow) for them. But, the more we structure it from our ideas, the less it is theirs.
Even I will let go of astrology, human design, soul contract, gene keys, iching, etc, once people don’t need these things anymore. They are merely tools to point people back to some resemblance of truth again. And once they have found their truth, relying on these systems becomes a crutch. See Sacha Stone’s take on this here and here.
Everyone could benefit from watching both videos linked above in full, especially expecting parents, new parents, and parents to be. If you have school age kids, at least hear him answer the questions posed at this time in the first video linked above!:
On the note of Sacha’s comments, I know I said “free” above, but if we are not rolling out the indoctrination and militarization of our children through cultural/cult programming / brainwashing, then it can‘t be free, and that was not free either! It has been very very expensive and has cost many lives, still counting. We need to pay people for their time, energy, and service, and they need to hold their value and ask for what they seek. No one is entitled, and everyone can afford to pay for what they need, because everyone has something to offer, and the government has no right to take a cut, unless they are contributing something of value, that people actually seek, and those would be one off arrangements, not en mass. Imo
If you have questions or are interested to discuss any of the links or topics above, go here (and look for other related topics that you seek clarification on, or just email me alahnnaa18@yourlifeplan.ca):