Cohousing-L Mailing List: Homeschooling and Cohousing

[KChrysos (KChrysos]

Hi all, 

I usually just "lurk" on the list but would like to respond to the thread on
homeschooling and cohousing. Our family has homeschooled for about two years
now. Our cohousing development is not yet built so I cannot descibe cohousing
in community yet. I can, however, explain why cohousing and homeschooling
seemed to be such a good idea.

As a homeschooling mom, my hope is that I can find a way to facilitate my
children's ability to "know thyself" (in the Socratic sense) and then to
learn to be as true and as great a self as they can be. Of course, this goal
never ends in life, and is certainly not confined to a classroom. It would be
just plain silly to try to "know thyself" in front of the TV, or in some sort
of sanitized, isolated social setting. Even though our community is not yet
built, the opportunities to learn and grow (both for us and the kids) have
been astonishing. The process of learning to work with a group, learning to
take chances, learning to trust, and learning to disagree while respecting
another's opinion have been of incalculable value. My kids are still on the
fringe of all this, but we talk about what is happening in the meetings. My
son has already learned, (to our surprise) to draft his requests in the form
of proposals! 

The thing I most look forward to in the built community is the possibility
for putting the pieces of modern life back together; to living in a place
where your neighbors are also your friends (gasp!). Without second-guessing
what might happen in the built community, I know that my children's
"classroom" will be a very rich mix of folks of all ages and backgrounds. I
am thrilled that they will have the opportunity to observe, and eventually
participate in the decision making processes of their own community. They
will grow up in a community where "he who dies with the most toys wins" is
_NOT_  a mantra.

As grown-ups, we struggle with balancing the needs of the group with those of
the individual. Our children will grow up knowing that it was important to
their community to care for all it's members, and for the group as a whole.

Hmmm. I think I see our next homeschooling theme. I think we'll visit our old
friend Dumas and his Three Musketeers. "All for one and one for all", might
be a fun way to introduce the kids to the consensus model. If consensus
doesn't work we could always try a duel! :-)

Sincerely yours,
Karen Chrysostom