Following our less than exuberant parent teacher conference this week, my mind started racing and this dream found its way into my thoughts. It lifted me out of my funk and made my heart feel calm and complete. Here it goes...
Tim and I will buy a house on acreage nearby (there are places near us you can do so). Usable acreage, not scratchy Colorado grass that requires long pants and cowboy boots acreage. The house will be big enough to fit our family of four humans and one canine, but it won't have to huge because we'll live on our land. We'll camp on our land, build fires on our land, explore our land, build tree houses on our land, catch minnows in the stream on our land, grow food on our land, raise chickens on our land, let the dog run free on our land, and star gaze on our land.
On said land will be two barns. Old barns. Kick ass barns you pull over to take your family photos in front of. One barn will be transformed into a school. My school. I'll utilize the talents of our Aunt Katy in Seattle to make it amazingly awesome. It'll be simple, non-distracting and perfect. It'll have a loft for art and messes and the spilled paint on the barn wood floors will act as priceless interior design. It will be a calm space, free of primary colors covering every available inch, free of bells and loud speaker announcements and unavoidable chaos. There will be quiet spaces for decompression.
My soon-to-be retired mom will be the volunteer principal of learning, my dad the PE & Colorado History coordinator, and me the head master. Two of my besties, Maria and Anne, will teach because that's their gift. They teach and understand. If I can pull Cara away from Araphoe, she'll be a part of my team too. My parents will have a cute little cabin on our property and they'll spend the school year with us. Dude will be our first student. We'll have small classes - 2 kids per teacher or aid - all out of the box learners. Maybe they'll squeak, maybe they'll be quiet, maybe they'll need to run, maybe they'll need one on one attention...they'll be allowed to run and squeak and be quiet and they'll get one on one attention. These kids will graduate each grade level with no fear of drowning in the public school system or being left out and under-served in the private system. Their individual learning styles will be met because there will be time and space to do so.
Our school will have Lego Mechanics class, Gardening, Cooking, Engineering, Art, Music, social skills classes, horse back riding,....they'll learn math using sticks and acorns and chicken eggs. They'll cook what they grow in the industrial kitchen Katy will design. They'll write stories about their real world adventures and turn them into pieces of art that will hang on the entry walls. Real world, hands on field trips will be a regular occurrence. They'll write letters to kids in other countries and learn about other cultures. They'll study history at local museums and go to plays and concerts of all types. They'll build robots and learn how a computer works rather than how to master video games. They'll visit local non-profits to gain understanding about the importance of philanthropy. They'll collect allowance money to donate to those non-profits and be encouraged to believe that little people are capable of doing really big things. They'll learn about government and have debates about issues facing kids around the world. They'll write letters to their government officials and learn how important their voices are. They'll study the Bible and connect its message of hope and unconditional love and acceptance through every subject they dissect. They'll play Chess and Risk and Red Rover. They'll go go karting, do yoga, and learn how to put a golf club for gym class. They'll learn how to be a Christ-like organ in the world in which we live and they'll be taught how to see grace through the inevitable darkness surrounding them.
Families who can't afford the $15K tuition at current special ed catered schools will come for half that ridiculous price and receive financial aid if need be. Because kids who have special needs and brilliant minds deserve to learn according to how the Lord created them, without alienation or feeling less than. We'll be governed by a board of directors from all spheres of education advocacy, local government, and business and church leaders.
Sir Ken Robinson (look him up) will be on our board. I'll make enough to cover my time and the rest of my payment will come in the piece of mind I'll have, knowing I cracked the education mold and created a new normal. I'll create a model that can be replicated. I'll write a book about it and speak and advocate for other kids when I no longer need to advocate so fiercely for my own.
In barn #2, Tim will start his own business, his life's dream. It'll be related to cars somehow and he'll employ those hard to employ and show them grace. He'll be the call they make from prison and he'll give them a second chance. He'll walk across our lawn each morning, fulfilled and eager to take on his day. He won't be sitting at a computer and if he's crunching numbers it'll be to calculate how large a bonus he can afford to offer his employees. He'll demand hard work and ethical work practices and he'll earn the respect and trust of everyone who crosses his path. That's my husband and I know this dream will come to fruition. Some day.
This is my fantasy. This is what causes me to close my eyes and look up, begging God to agree with me. I did dream it and it's now spoken here for all of you to bear witness to. I don't tend to let my dreams go down the pipes. I'm just sayin'.
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