I had a real debate with myself,” said Ms. Gibson, a writer and self-professed Dumpster diver. “I almost left it there because it was so big, and I kept thinking to myself, ‘Why are you taking this back to your crammed apartment?’”
But, she said, she felt she simply had to have the 38-by-51-inch painting, because “it had a strange power.
What an amazing video! Here are some college kids telling it like it really is; how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. This was created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.
Education is going to have a tough time keeping up with the next generation OR will the kids have a tougher time keeping up with education? ... some great food for thought.!
The movie just came out this weekend and is already receiving wonderful reviews. The ticket sales were not as high as expected BUT all the major newspapers and initial reviews are saying it's a creative masterpiece and sure to win many awards. I can't wait to see it. They say that if you enjoyed Moulin Rouge or Beatles music, you'll love it!
Here's the trailer ...
The girls and I had a really good talk today about homeschooling. They were telling me today that sometimes when they tell someone for the first time that they are home schooled they usually get a response that is puzzling to them. They hear things like "Really, that's too bad that you never get to play with anyone" or "Wow! You never get to go anywhere" or the most common reaction that I get all the time is "Aren't you worried about socialization?".
We'll that's why I refer to the fishes. Many people don't realize that "regular" school is an artificial environment. You are only around kids your same age, from usually your same economic circles and mostly the same ethnicity. Once you finish high school, life isn't like that. College and work environments are very diverse. What my girls are learning is how to relate well to each other, other kids of various ages and ethnicities. The girls run my errands with me, they know how to do grocery shopping, make a bank deposit and other real life stuff. The girls get to see how my husband does his job (he works out of our home) and how I run my clothing design business. We take several extracurricular classes outside our home, and we do spur of the moment field trips every week. We have our "official" educational field trips that we do with a several different large group of home schoolers and we've even managed to find quite a few friends to hang out with in our own neighborhood.
I have nothing against teachers or traditional schools, it's just that I don't think most people understand what really goes on in a home schooling home, well at least mine. I hope this little post of mine will get you thinking about the labels we put on people and how it makes them feel.
For now, I think the girls get it. Natalie said "Oh, next time someone feels sorry for me because I'm home schooled, I'll tell them that they shouldn't feel sorry for me because actually they go to school in the fish bowl and I go to the school in the ocean".
In a few weeks our family is headed across the US border into Mexico with close to 200 volunteers to build homes for impoverished Mexican families living just outside of Tijuana. My husband Jon started Project Mexico in 1999, to date participants have built over 80 homes. The impact goes way beyond shelter for these families, it gives hope.
Our family gets so much out of doing this every fall and spring. A few trips back we built a home for Marisol and her daughter, Karla. Since I speak Spanish we all made friends very quickly. When I told Marisol how each participant pays their own room & board ($65 for the weekend) and each team of 20 raises the $6,200 for materials ($300/person) via fundraising she was completely amazed and grateful. Marisol has had a very rough life; she had an abusive mother, she's a single mom, and the list goes on. She told me that the miracle of getting a home from complete strangers with no strings attached was already overwhelming, but the fact that we all come back and visit and really do care about her and her daughter is something that she has never experienced until now. She's on a journey as we all are, I'm so grateful to be able to be a part of the story that God is telling in this little corner of the planet.
I've realized that these weekends in Mexico are so much more than just building a home, it's about using our hands & feet to show God's love for the people of Colonia de San Bernardo. If you want to know more about Project Mexico check out the site by clicking here.
Here's a video that Jon made from our last trip; hope you enjoy it!
I belong to a group of clothing designers, we are called Faeryhill Boutique. Our theme this week was "Faeryclaus". I had to make something for Christmas, it's hard to think about it when it's in the 80's in California. So here's my little contribution to our Ebay launch. I have some other new Christmas items coming later this week. I'll post them when I next come up for air. This year of home schooling is pretty hard work, I've got a 1st, 4th & 5th grader and we're doing well but the classical education mix is keeping me on my toes. I am loving the social studies part, we're in ancient Egypt right now ... too fun! So sorry I've been tardy with my posts, hopefully I can get back to my regularly scheduled postings ... we'll see how it goes.
