One day I realised that the first rule of the system was to protect itself, it's called survival instinct. That put a huge crack in my belief that the system was supposed to work for us, the people it served, meet our needs. But for anything to survive it needs to meet it's own needs first. The system didn't care for those of us that didn't serve it's needs, that challenged it's status quo. I'd been working to meet the system's basic need, survival. So I walked away.
We'd already had a go at homeschooling so I knew it was possible and that it worked, and was less trouble and less work and less banging my head against a brick wall. I knew that I was ultimately responsible for whether it worked or not, that I had the power to change what we were doing and how right now, and actually fix the problems, find and use the tools that would help do that.
Stepping outside the system was empowering, in a quiet and wonderful way.
So true “the first rule of the system is to protect itself.” When you realize that — it truly does change your perspective about the state of the educational system.
I agree - it is very empowering to step outside & declare that “I got this.” So many times as a parent we are told we don’t know what’s best for our kids, or how could they possibly thrive being outside of a school environment. It takes throwing away everything we learned about how education is “supposed to look” and recreating it the way that works best for our kids and families. And people who are embedded in the system will keep telling us how wrong we are.
This really landed for me as both a former professional in the system, and now a home educating parent outside of it. My experience - and that of others I have connected with - makes me reflect that those who are doing the heart-led work within systems to try and change things, ultimately often end up leaving when they have their own children as it suddenly then becomes much more personal... If you can see from your lived experience that real system change is unlikely in the near future, when you're faced with making choices for your own loved ones you will be forced out. And so the system continually loses those potential change-makers. Hence why I do not have hope that the system will change any time soon, and like you and many others, am instead focusing my energy on building the new outside of it.
Great perspective! And yes — I agree on focusing energy on building a new way. It breaks my heart to see my daughter really want to participate in school but the school not being able to support her in the ways she needs.
One day I hope to build something where she can experience the social connections she longs for but also be accommodated fully & learn in ways that make sense for her instead of having to abide by a broken system. That will likely take awhile to Build but I’m up for the challenge
I stepped outside the system.
One day I realised that the first rule of the system was to protect itself, it's called survival instinct. That put a huge crack in my belief that the system was supposed to work for us, the people it served, meet our needs. But for anything to survive it needs to meet it's own needs first. The system didn't care for those of us that didn't serve it's needs, that challenged it's status quo. I'd been working to meet the system's basic need, survival. So I walked away.
We'd already had a go at homeschooling so I knew it was possible and that it worked, and was less trouble and less work and less banging my head against a brick wall. I knew that I was ultimately responsible for whether it worked or not, that I had the power to change what we were doing and how right now, and actually fix the problems, find and use the tools that would help do that.
Stepping outside the system was empowering, in a quiet and wonderful way.
So true “the first rule of the system is to protect itself.” When you realize that — it truly does change your perspective about the state of the educational system.
I agree - it is very empowering to step outside & declare that “I got this.” So many times as a parent we are told we don’t know what’s best for our kids, or how could they possibly thrive being outside of a school environment. It takes throwing away everything we learned about how education is “supposed to look” and recreating it the way that works best for our kids and families. And people who are embedded in the system will keep telling us how wrong we are.
This really landed for me as both a former professional in the system, and now a home educating parent outside of it. My experience - and that of others I have connected with - makes me reflect that those who are doing the heart-led work within systems to try and change things, ultimately often end up leaving when they have their own children as it suddenly then becomes much more personal... If you can see from your lived experience that real system change is unlikely in the near future, when you're faced with making choices for your own loved ones you will be forced out. And so the system continually loses those potential change-makers. Hence why I do not have hope that the system will change any time soon, and like you and many others, am instead focusing my energy on building the new outside of it.
Great perspective! And yes — I agree on focusing energy on building a new way. It breaks my heart to see my daughter really want to participate in school but the school not being able to support her in the ways she needs.
One day I hope to build something where she can experience the social connections she longs for but also be accommodated fully & learn in ways that make sense for her instead of having to abide by a broken system. That will likely take awhile to Build but I’m up for the challenge
I very much hope you succeed and look forward to following your journey :-)