Monday, February 28, 2011

Letting My Mind Go . . .

Spent a few days with hubby in the glorious warmth and sunshine of southern Florida this weekend. Ahhhhh. Very happy to be in warm weather even if just for a short while. But the best part of the weekend was quiet time to myself. Keith spent much of Friday golfing and Saturday morning playing tennis. I sat on the balcony of our hotel room -- or at the pool -- or at various other sunny spots around the resort. Reading . . . thinking . . . dreaming.

I listened to a ted.com speech about education Thursday night that mentioned Big Picture Schools -- which I then googled and got all excited about. I've thought for years (and have mentioned here) how I would LOVE to start a school that homeschools. These Big Picture High Schools are about as close as I've ever seen to that idea.

That excitement bubbled over into my spending a lot of time sitting and thinking about schools. If I were to create the ideal school, what would it look like? I eventually had so many ideas crowding my brain, I got out my little notebook and started taking notes.

Part of me felt a bit guilty at this use of my time. As if I would ever actually put any of this to use. As if I would ever really be able to create my "ideal school". I don't have the resources, the credibility, the everything it would take to make such a thing happen. What a waste to spend hours pondering the impossible.

And then I slapped myself around a bit for feeling guilty. Who says it's impossible? Who says it's a waste of time? Who says there's no value in dreaming of an ideal? Not to mention the fact that I just flat out really enjoyed myself as I was doing it. I rarely have the opportunity at home to just sit and let my mind wander long enough to allow those wandering thoughts to gel into some structural unity. And I love when that happens.

So, I now have a framework for an educational system outlined in my little notebook. And I really like it (right now, anyway). I think I will share it with you all -- in little pieces, of course, because it's too much info to put into one post. If you're bored with the idea, or find it a waste of time to dream of an ideal, then move on. But I'd love to hear what you think.

Coming soon . . .

1 comment:

Vianelli and Eastin said...

Maybe some day soon or later you'll be able to make the school that you dream of or become a famous writer and write a story about it and then maybe they'll make a school like it.