Life is Messy

So a couple of days ago (I think it was) I posted a meme on my Facebook page.  Using cans of paint, the meme depicted what it calls "school" versus "life."  The "school" side is depicted with organized, neat cups of different colors of paint.  The "life" side is depicted with the paint mixed and splattered.  I wrote something like "This is why unschooling is real-life learning."  

A few people have liked this meme.  One has commented that, as a teacher, she feels the meme is inaccurate, because educators do work hard to integrate subjects.  Fair enough.  I totally agree that educators do work hard to help their students learn.  That is educators of all forms - public school teachers, private school teachers, homeschooling teachers in traditional homeschools.  They do work very hard, and I would never want to downplay their effort, determination, or hard work.  

That said, I did reply (a few times, because that is how my mind works - because, well, life is messy) to her comment.  I explained to her that I do understand what she means.  And I don't think the intention of the meme was to downplay multidisciplinary learning.  

I explained to her the difference between traditional, multidisciplinary learning and unschooling by  first sharing how some of the work that my sons have been doing have overlapped naturally.  

Example Number 1 

Unschooling 

In the example of my sons, wondering about a tree led to a botany study.  Actually, it started with collecting leaves one day after  our housechurch (rather appropriately, about Palm Sunday) at a park with nature trails.  My thirteen-year old son began a leaf collection project.  My younger son buried seeds in our backyard.  This led to a botany study - naturally.  

Because this month is Earth Day and Arbor Day, and Earth Day and Arbor Day are big events in our household (just ask Charlie Brown about the importance of Arbor Day.  My sons are both big Peanuts fans); we began our discussion of conservation.  Actually, it started and kind of died off a couple of weeks ago when my eleven-year old son told me he wants to help endangered animals when he grows up.  Well, we were all in agreement to pick up our conservation and environmentalism study, so we started again.  It works well with the botany study my sons have been working on.  

Yesterday, we had to take some DVDs back to the library.  They had already been re-checked once.  While there, my sons wanted to go downstairs to our youth department and do some building (our library has awesome building materials for kids in their youth services department).  

While we were down there, we noticed a table set up with magazine cut-outs and paper to coincide with poetry writing for National Poetry Month.  I had forgotten about it, but last year, we had a blast studying the musical quality of poetry.  ("Little Orphan Annie" was a favorite.  My then ten-year old really got into it).  Anyway, we discussed studying haiku this year.  

So as we searched for books on haiku, we also found books on Japanese fairy tales.  This, of course, also led us to think about legends from other cultures as well.  We also ended up with a book about a Golum and a book about Greek mythology (an especially big love of my thirteen-year old).  

So we headed to the park (which was in our plans for the evening, anyway) with books in hand to start writing haiku.  We did write haiku.  As I expected, my eleven-year old, especially, REALLY got into it - even though his haiku was five or six lines instead of the traditional three.  He did stick to the five syllable, seven syllable, five syllable pattern.  He just added lines.  Of course, his haiku was about a cat.  

We also got into the Japanese legends.  We discussed Mulan, from whom Disney got its movie, for Chinese legends.  We read about the Golum from Jewish legends.  And we read about Persephone and Demeter from Greek legend.  

The legend of the Golum and the legend of Demeter and Persephone reminded me of an email I had received from our art center about a new exhibit.  The new exhibit is about death and coincides with the opening of a new cemetery.  Anyway, the email informed me that they are looking for artists to "art" about death.  I told Taliesin, who is thirteen, about this.  

When we went home, he, of course, began painting a picture coinciding with the Greek mythology about Demeter withering nature in mourning Persephone, who was taken to the underworld.  Who knows?  It may be accepted.  If not, we will have some nice artwork for the living room.  

So all of these unplanned studies have tied together.  All of it was natural and unexpected.  That is, it was messy, real-life learning.  

Example Number 2 

Bible Studies 

The next example I gave was of Bible studies.  I cannot tell you how many disagreements I have had with people who believe it is impossible to conduct a teaching or Bible study without planning and preparing.  I always disagree.  

I have facilitated Bible studies for a few years now.  Unless I absolutely have to plan them out, I do not.  I know the basic idea of the study (for example, today for our housechurch, we are going to talk about the Ascension of Christ.  Tomorrow at a Bible study, we are going to discuss Tamar, the daughter of David).  However, where God will take the study,  I have no clue.  I do not adhere to small group leading philosophy that says the leader must always keep the group on track.  I believe God works best in rabbit trails and messy learning.  

Example Number 3 

Writing 

Next, I gave the example of writing.  When I write, I do not use an outline.  (I purposely outlined this post because I wrote of it on my Facebook page first.  In no particular order.  It just happened naturally and messily).  I explained that when I write, I write what hits me, what I feel.  Even for my college writing, I do not outline unless the assignment forces me.  When I am forced into it, I hate the writing.  It is tedious.  A good example, in my opinion, about how forced learning takes the true joy of learning away.  

Example Number 4 

Theology versus Relationship

My last example happened when I checked my discussion board for my theology class just a few minutes later.  I had written in my original post about the importance of relationship over doctrine and how theology, as much as I love it, can sometimes - okay, oftentimes - become an idol in the church world.  I gave specific, personal examples of this being true.  

A fellow student had replied and agreed with what I had written.  He gave some good facts to back up his reasoning as well.  That's when it hit me.  This conversation about "school" versus "life" really coincides to theology versus relationship as well.  Theology, as I wrote in reply to my fellow student, is nice and neat - like the paint cans in the now-controversial meme.  Relationship with Christ is not. 

 

I explained that when I went through a period of spiritual, psychological, and emotional trauma, it was not cold theology that comforted me.  In fact, doctrine made my pain worse.  It was my relationship with Christ that brought healing.  It was messy and painful, but it was life.  

In Closing 

My Life Right Now 

I recently wrote about how my life goals have changed in some ways.  For as long as I can remember, I had "plans" to study theology, to become a "professional" teacher of the Bible, to go into full-time ministry.  I studied long and hard for this.  But, as classic literature often reiterates, alas, it was not to happen.  

Granted, I do serve in ministry.  I love our housechurch, the local Bible studies I facilitate, and, of course, my participation in prison ministries.  However, I have come to a point that I realize going into full-time ministry (the way the Christian world, the church world thinks of full-time ministry) is not going to happen.  That does not mean ministry is not happening.  God has shown me that following His ideas are very different than following people's ideas.  But that is really the point of this post, isn't it?  

I now work in a public school (something I never thought I would do) while homeschooling/unschooling/real-life schooling my sons.  I am changing my major for my second master's degree from a seminary degree (what I always thought I would be doing, what I always dreamed of) to history (which has been a life-long passion of mine).  I have ideas in mind of how I can progress, but really, that's up to God.  As Proverbs 16:9 says, "We make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps" (NLT).  

But that's life.  Life is Messy.