Sharing a Changing Learning Journey

by Beverley Paine

I say and write a lot of stuff and I mean what I say and write, but don't think that what I write and say today is what I have always thought and said. It's a snapshot of who I am and what I'm thinking now, where I am at in my learning, my personal and parenting journeys. As soon as I've written something it's part of my history. I may write something completely different tomorrow. I am an active learner.

Every time I talk with you, through this or another forum, or in person, I'm listening, not only to what you say but to what I say. I'm reflecting on that, picking out the hypocrisies and inconsistencies in my thoughts and words and pondering the meaning and motivation. This is how I learn. It's my learning style. My conversations are my tools for personal growth. I'm not a perfect parent - heaven knows I was, and am, far from being a perfect parent! And I'm okay with that. I identify with parents because I'm still learning how to be the parent I want to be to my children - and my children are now adults!

It's easy to find a few words or sentences I've penned and hang onto the wisdom I've written into them. It's not my wisdom, it's the wisdom of generations of parents looking for ways that work who have gone before me. I take a little bit of everything I hear, read, see or experience and synthesize it into something that makes sense to me, something that works for me, and then I share it. And there are echoes of what I think in almost everything I read on this group and others: other people are thinking the same or similar things. I'm not alone. And that heartens me, I feel encouraged that so many parents are reclaiming the responsibility to be aware and mindful parents, questioning old habits and removing unhelpful conditioning from their lives. 

If I share my words and ideas with you in a book I've crafted and put together, printed or published and you pay for that book, then you are helping me to earn a few dollars which I spend on books and toys for my grandchildren. My aim isn't to earn a living writing and publishing; my aim is to encourage you to be a do-it-yourself educator of your children, because I found it immensely rewarding and it is a lot easier than people make it out to be. I like to think that you are on a journey, just like I was, towards independent thinking and learning. And that the path to efficient and happy home education is tuning into your children's individual needs, getting to know your children better, being attentive to them and enjoying their company and the richness it brings to your life.  

And I guess, we need to extend this to other people, especially our kids. They aren't who we think they are, who they were yesterday, they've moved on... That's the nature of learners.