Dear Bill:
I don't believe there is such a "thing" as a real story for any of us to
tell. The past, to me, is nothing but a story I tell in the present, and
nothing but my interpretation of the past. I selectively tell some portions,
and omit others. Likewise, I think the future is nothing but a story that I
am inventing now, in the present, based on my current interpretations of the
past, about what is possible for me in the future.
So, that little exercise of creating a story about how one has prepared
themselves for adulthood seems extremely valuable to me. I wish I had that
experience when I was growing up. My story about growing up is one of
looking for the truth (damn catholic sunday school teachers,) and/or finding
myself. It was only later in my life (story) that I came to learn that I am
free, relatively speaking, to invent myself, and that I do it every single
moment, every time I speak (or write.) It's been way more rewarding this
way, as now I am just here. I found myself here and now, and now know that
I'm not somewhere in an unknown future. So, I don't waste time anymore
wondering who I am, or will be, or how it will all end. I just am. I'm
making it up, with others, and I like it!!
This is all just my story of course.
Enjoy,
Mark
----- Original Message -----
From: <Sugmapl@aol.com>
To: <discuss-sudbury-model@sudval.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2001 8:49 AM
Subject: Re: DSM: Diploma
> Dear Scott,
>
> Thank you very much. You wrote that:
>
> "the diploma is alien to the heart of Sudbury".
>
> Exactly. There is a whole set of questions that we can answer by
considering
> the heart of Sudbury. Remember the question about "essential skills", and
the
> one about whether Sudbury had produced any trully outstanding people, like
> Eienstien or such. The diploma question is a like minded question.
>
> Just consider very carefully that the heart of Sudbury is this stunning
> little notion that the child is a full person deserving of respect. And as
a
> consequece of that notion we offer no agenda or curriculum. And thus we
come
> to see that Sudbury has constructed the quite rare view that the child is
not
> an improver.
>
> Now, from the perspective of the child who first arrives at Sudbury when
they
> are four, notice how this view (that the child is not an improver) can
easily
> inform all the early years. Notice that it easily informs all the middle
> years.
>
> Consider now the late years, the leaving, the end game. We are correct in
> understanding that the leaving is an incredibly rich time. But we must
also
> understand whose time it is. Our stunning little notion (that the child is
> not an improver) can also inform the last years by insisting that the end
> game, just like the early and middle years, is owned by the child. And
lets
> be clear why the child owns this time. Certainly, in making all this
happen,
> the efforts of the staff and parents and founders has been substantial.
The
> efforts of the child have been monumental.
>
> And so, I believe, that our stance at the leaving, at the loss, is most
> directly expressed as gratitude. "Thank you, thanks for coming".
>
> But also, I understand that people want stuff. Let's be crystal clear. The
> diploma is the staff or parents or founders wanting something. Wanting
ain't
> bad. Just don't manipulate it till it looks like the child is driving
this.
> The notion of preparing to become responsible in the larger community is
> simply not a notion that has informed much of the child's life at Sudbury.
> Such a notion asks them to recast their experience into something it was
not.
> It asks them to make up a story. A fake story.
>
> But in fact, the child has a real story. And like all the other parents
and
> staff and founders, I want something. I want that story. But the only
thing
> we can do is ask. After thanking them, we can only ask that they tell us.
We
> can ask them to write their own story, their real story, their own
> ethnography. We will all bless the day we can sit around and read that.
>
>
> Warm Regards,
> Bill Richardson
>
>
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0.0 : Wed Mar 27 2002 - 19:39:48 EST