Time for the Revolution

I’ve been thinking a lot about time.

We’re always so busy, running from park day to drama practice to art class to hockey games – and we’re one of the less busy families I know. Experts are always telling us how moms (and I’d apply this to homeschool dads, too) need to make time for themselves. You know, for exercise, a massage, “me time.” I think the experts are right that we who take care of the day to day needs of the family as a career tend to forget to our own physical and mental needs.

This is not the type of time I’ve been thinking about.

Most homeschooling parents I know try to take time to find the right grammar curriculum or the perfect science program. We spend hours considering what our kids’ strengths and challenges are and tailoring their education to fit each individual child. We often feel rushed and pushed into making some of these decisions, and I, at least, sometimes jump into “crisis mode” and choose things for my kids that will do for the interim while I look for something better. I often wish I had more time to analyze what I do each day with my children.

This, also, is not the type of time I’ve been thinking about.

I’ve been thinking about taking time to plan the revolution.

I’m talking about “big picture” thinking. What is the purpose of what my family is doing? What are its implications? What type of world am I trying to create? Face it, what we’re doing is not the norm and does not create the same reality for our kids as for the kids who are institutionally educated. They aren’t going to have the same shared experiences. This makes a difference in how our children are going to treat, and be treated by, the rest of our culture.

The founders of our country didn’t just think about what the American Revolution meant right then, in 1776. They were thinking about the future and what they were creating for the long run. They met for 15 years hashing out the details, first, of parting ways with Britain, and then they continued to meet to hash out what the new country would look like. They took time to plan the revolution.

I don’t think there’s a right way to do the planning, though. For me, it means spending a lot of time reading about a whole slew of subjects, including philosophy, history, politics. I read a lot of blogs and books on homeschooling. I talk to my homeschooling friends and belong to homeschooling online lists. I also just spend time thinking (or “daydreaming” as my kids call it). But I don’t spend nearly enough time doing these things because there is laundry to be done and food to be cooked. I firmly believe that revolutionaries shouldn’t have to do house work. But somebody has to do it.

And somebody has to plan the revolution.