On “School” Name: A silly name that takes on a meaning for me.

Our “school” name started out as a bit of a joke. A tongue in cheek name partly meant to poke gentle fun at the structure and rigidity of industrial era schooling; partly to signal that we aren’t actually taking ourselves too seriously; and partly to put on the top of transcripts before we decided to go with a charter. It was inspired by my Alice In Wonderland living room decor. The “school name” also provided a vehicle to wade into some learning together. Jackie made us a logo and we discussed the possibility of creating a website, fliers, and even uniforms! It was fun and we were stepping softly into learning.

The logo went up on the wall in April, months before we were due to get started together; and I looked at it every day. As I sat with the image and reflected on the years ahead, the name took on new meaning for me. It stopped being just a little fun and became my aspiration… to become a non-Carrollian sort of queen of hearts.

To explain… When I wandered into this adventure of taking kids into the world to learn (two of whom aren’t even mine). I wasn’t completely delusional. I had not forgotten that I am no teacher. I have not been trained in pedagogy and there’s a reason I never sought that training. What I am is a person who loves these kids and is committed to helping each of them achieve their own best outcomes and their own personal goals. I see how their curiosity, confidence, and persistence have diminished through too much stillness, too much indoor time, too many unhealthy peer dynamics, too many poor peer role models, too little accountability, and too little individualized attention in their educational environments. My hope is not to carve them into this or that agenda of my own, but rather to give them the space to explore their own passions and develop all the skills and strengths they need to pursue them. They have brilliant, capable minds and good hearts. I know that in the right environment and with the right support they’ll do great things and grow beyond what any of them can yet imagine possible. When I see our once silly school name I’m gently reminded to become more and more a person who helps them to become the person their own hearts call them to be.