Learning in the Absence of Education
Essays on Homeschooling
© Beverley Paine
Index
Homeschool
Australia
Children Learning At Home The Permaculture Way!
(continued)
There is no hierarchical structure to our learning environment. I trust my children will control and direct their learning to meet their own needs. They find themselves perfectly placed to learn what they need to learn at every given point in the day. In assisting them I am guided by their moods, their requests, their questions, their desires, their physical needs, their responses to the people, environment and actions of the day. It takes very little effort to see their needs, in much the same way a gardener watching her plants grow daily knows what to do next to keep them healthy and help them prosper. All this is achieved by simply being available, and learning from the interactions between all elements as the day progresses. It is a wonderful dynamic process, and as it knits together over time it becomes even more effortless.
I feel that it is only by placing the children in a loving environment where permaculture values are continuously demonstrated that produces these results. The children find themselves constantly in the right place at the right time, and I trust they will be. We go with the flow of life as it naturally unfolds, creating our learning together. Where there is a need we meet it.
Out home learning environment is energy efficient, because it has to be - we don't have time to not enjoy ourselves or waste our time, effort and resources. Inefficiency impedes learning. The permaculture principles of multiple functions and multiple elements under lie our learning environment. Resources are placed to be of the most use, and available whenever they are required, often serving several functions. There is no separation of life learning into individual and often arbitrary curriculum areas or subjects. All learning is purposeful and meaningful to each child, and to us adults too. Recycling is very important. Although we don't shy away from technology and new resources, we value those things we can use again, or recycle into something else.
Understanding the many levels of learning in a particular area has been of enormous benefit as we often all learn from the same resource, needing to find meaning for each of us from the simplest of explanations and demonstrations to quite complex and sophisticated ones. In doing this, we nurture one another, no-one person assuming the role of teacher or expert. In much the same way a gardener will 'stack' her plants both in terms of time and space, we stack our learning, each little bit fitting easily into the wonderful jigsaw puzzle of life. By being able to continuously access this stack of knowledge and resources we learn more efficiently.
In permaculture we talk about designing in zones and sectors. In our home learning environment the zones are still based on frequency of visits according to need, beginning with the innermost private space of the individual, his or her own area, then the shared family spaces, friends, recreation and educational resources (people, places and things), the media, and finally the world of business and employment. Sectors are translated into individual learning styles and needs, which must always be considered before anything else can occur.
I recognise the edge is where maximum growth occurs, and learning is no different. Often the edge is the point at which conflict occurs and we are challenged to resolve or solve difficult problems, often needing to overcome past fears. Children have a natural instinct to challenge themselves with their development; we respect and honour that and wait patiently for our children to succeed at their own pace in their own chosen way. Life, if given space to grow, will be abundant. It is up to us to value the result!
Although our home education began as a tentative experiment with only 'education' as the goal, we have seen the harvest of many wonderful yields. For me it has been reclaiming the dignity of motherhood in a society which encourages women to be workers away from home and children for long hours. I have reclaimed my children from a system of child care and education which will not stand up and be responsible and accountable for its outcomes. I have also reclaimed the right to be in control of my own education, rejecting the reasons society places on it. We have learned that the definition of success and failure is very personal, and not to judge performance by arbitrary standards.
But best of all, we have grown together as a family, in love and friendship.
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Excerpt from Learning in the Absence of Home Education: Essays on Homeschooling
© Beverley Paine, 1999
