An old friend of mine from when we were Young Friends, is working with the current Young Friends group here. His son is here too, just a little older than Berit. It is fun to see the next generation together, and growing in the metaphorical soil that nurtured us. Meanwhile there has been much wrestling with how to manage a budget in which the income is not enough for the usual purposes. Programming for the children & adolescents is easier to cut than some other things. I’m going to resist the urge to rant on the subject for the moment, in favor of enjoying the good and deep conversations, the rising silences, the pleasure of being among Friends. I’ll rant later.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Annual Sessions 2011
July 28, 2011 at 1:32 pm (Quakerness)
The girls and I are here, among Friends and as the program got under way last night, it was a treat to see Berit and Dana with other young Friends. I got to chat with another old young Friend, after too many years apart. This morning the girls are off on a hike with their middle and high school groups. Happy and without a backward look! I’m for the plenary. Knitting bag on my shoulder, I’ll be interested in all the business but keeping an eye out for home school interests. More later!
Meditations on Quaker Education via Howard Brinton
July 1, 2011 at 9:24 pm (Quakerness)
Brinton says: “There is a vast difference between preparing to meet college entrance requirements and preparing for the kingdom of heaven. But there was a time when Quakerism had a definite philosophy of life which resulted in a definite standard of living embodied in a real community of persons. The purpose of education was to provide training for the kind of living which was implicit in the nature of Quakerism.[Quaker education in theory and practice p. 20]“
Can we prepare for living a Quaker life, college, and heaven at the same time? I tend to think that getting the patterns of our living here and now as close to what we imagine, are lead to imagine, heaven to require, ought to be our effort, and that we can raise our children within that effort. If college preparation is a part of what we think important for them, we should be able to do that in the mix. What do you think?
