It's not just that I want to travel all the time (although I do), I also wish I could save my kids from the trauma that comes with school. I think we can all think of some way we were traumatized in school, be it by teachers who valued obedience over intellect or by kids who preyed on whatever it was that was different about us.
Anyway, because I have this traveling family fantasy, I was particularly interested in seeing "Surfwise," the new documentary about the Paskowitz family...the family with nine kids who traveled the country in an RV and surfed. These kids never went to school. In fact, their father forbid it. They just surfed everyday.
Obviously, it wasn't all sunshine and smiles. They lived in a 24-foot RV. The father was a dictator, the mother just kept her mouth shut and kept having babies and the kids grew up with no life skills. However, they all seem to agree that there was something amazing about it. And most of the kids actually have gone on to do pretty well for themselves. Very interesting.
Don't worry, I have no plans to pile the family into an RV and drop off the grid, but I still recommend the movie just for a different perspective on life. It's so easy to go along with the social norms that are handed to us that we don't always step back and go, "Is this what I really want?" We can probably all be more conscious of the choices we make for ourselves and for our kids. Something to think about.
*Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
1 comment:
Not to always be the public school guy, but I remember alot of trauma when I was young and in school, but I'm not sure I regret it. I think school has nothing to do with it. It's social interaction that leaves scars and those scars are what mold us. If you shield your kids from all other children and socialization, then sure, they would avoid that trauma, but have you ever seen a dog that was poorly socialized? They tend to attack and sometimes kill other dogs.
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