The Beginning of a Vision...

Before Theo was born, when I was seven months pregnant, Jonathan and I were in London visiting my brother. We sat in a coffee shop (Pret a Porter) on a rainy day and brainstormed what we wanted to make sure we taught our child. We made a huge list, which I have somewhere, and we read it again when he was born. But now that he is older, and he is about to start kindergarten, I think about it all again. I want to define my vision--not as NOTS, but as a positive vision. So here is the start of a list, of things I want my boy to learn, both in school and out. The things I want him to know by the time he is 18, and he takes off into the world. (And I do believe these things are taught at home, at school, through friends, on vacations, and everywhere...but I, as the mama, am the ultimate coordinator)
I want him to learn to care about his community, and to believe it is duty to improve it, to give to it, and to make the world a better place. I want him to learn to know that he is blessed, with a family, an education, money, and US citizenship, and it is his responsibility to give all he can to help others, not to just use his talents to benefit himself. I want him to love the earth, to love nature, and to take care of this world for future generations--better than we have. I want him to love music. To learn to play it and sing it and dance to it, not just as a passive consumer, but as a human being who is moved by music, no matter how talented (or untalented) he himself might be. I want him to be creative, and to never ever lose the creative impulse, because that is what makes life rich. I want him to learn to read,to learn to write, to learn to express himself powerfullly, to influence people through writing and words, and to know the power of words always. I want him to know how to learn. I want him to respect learning and to love it for its own sake, not because it gets him into Harvard or Yale or gets him a good job. I want him to know that joy, of commanding a subject. I want him to learn humility. To know that it is his responsibility to always do his best, but that many of his victories and accomplishments (and there will be many) will be built on the work of others--to never lose sight of that. I want him to find his passion, to believe that is important, to search for it and be true to it and to follow that impulse because it is a gift, and ultimately no one else can tell you what your passion is. You are on your own. I want him to be comfortable in the world--whether walking in the wilderness alone, moving among those who are poor, and unlike him, or moving among those who are rich, and unlike him. I want him to love the ocean. I want him to be kind. I want him to know how to stand up for himself, and for others. I want him to be strong, and not sell off his talents to others for less than they are worth. I want him to be principled, and have standards within him that guide him and help him navigate this crazy world. I want him to know how to love others, to show that love, and feel love, and feel comfortable in both directions. I am not a Waldorfian, but I want him to be sheltered enough that he cultivates his own imagination, before he is hijacked by popular culture. I want him to be a creator and an activist, not a consumer. Above all, I want him to always, always think for himself. Whatever the cost.