It’s kind of an old debate, but the question of “socialization” seems to come up a fair amount when I talk about homeschooling with people who aren’t familiar with that way of life. Usually I give the half-facetious remark that we don’t send our kids to school precisely because school seeks to socialize them. That starts a nice conversation about the role of institutions in shaping the behaviours of young people. In general people expect schools to do these things but then there is very little deep conversation about the role of school when folks talk about youth …
Johnnie Moore and I have been trading links about podcasts…today I’ll point you to one he did with Annette Clancy and Matt Moore on shadows in organizations. It’s really, really good, and what got my attention is when Annette asked “what job was your sense of shame doing for the organisation for which you worked?” I first met Annette in 2005 when she responded to an invitation I issued about looking for help designing an Aboriginal youth conference on suicide. She has a great knack for asking these questions and has terrific ideas floating around in her blog. …
I’m back home after a long seven days of travelling to Alert Bay, Courtenay, Victoria, Seattle, Quinault and home again. I have been doing some fun work with great people, but I’m pretty tired now, and resting here in the warm heart space of home and reflecting on how lucky I am to get to do what I do. It brought to mind a quote from Aristotle that my mate Tim Merry has put into a recent Art of Hosting journal: Where the needs of the world meet our passion and gifts, there lies our vocation. I’m lucky …
Last week Dave Pollard, author of How to Save the World interviewed me for his first podcast. We had a lovely conversation about essential human capacities, Open Space, unschooling and leadership. Head over to Dave’s quite excellent and prolific blog and have a listen. You can also download the podcast here. And thanks to Dave for inviting me in.
Quinault Indian Nation, Washington On the first fall storm night, with the wind rain and surf pouring in off the Pacific Ocean, I come across this: Thomas Merton: “I do not know if I have found answers. When I first became a monk, yes, I was more sure of “answers.” But as I grow old in the monastic life and advance further into solitude, I become aware that I have only begun to seek the questions. And what are the questions? Can man make sense out of his existence? Can man honestly give his life meaning merely by adopting a …