Wilder Tribe

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School Days

Mariner and Kite get used to waking early to go to school.

The kids just started school at Blue Mountain in Cottage Grove. I'll write more later, but I just had to get the pictures up. I am so proud and happy for them. I wish I could enroll! It's a free school which means a lot of different things. There's no grading or testing. There's no differentiation of classroom grades. And since it's a public charter school, there's no tuition. There are plenty of resources and centers and things to do and learn and grow from. More importantly, there's a student body of between 65-70 kids from kindergarten through high school who are all "really alive" as kaseja puts it.

Kite and Mariner sign in when their bus arrives and then they are free to hang out with whoever they want and do whatever they want. beth and I went with them on the first day.

beth got to ride on the bus with Kite on the first day.

Mariner had qualms the night before, but when they got there, Kite was the shy one. Mariner saw some high school kids wrestling in the gym and he ran right up and started wrestling with them. There's a foam pit in the gym that's really fun. There's also a library, an art room, a pottery studio, a sewing room, a computer lab and more. They are building a new wing and the students are invited to take part in the construction. Kids can also petition to help in the kitchen if they want. And if someone wants something that's not there (like saxophone lessons for example) they can simply request it.

The school has a Law Book that was written entirely by students and faculty over the years in assemblies and councils. All the kids are invited to participate in a democratic vote regarding school policy and governance and remediation. They have respresentatives of different age groups who sit on a Judicial Council or JC. I can tell that this is the right place for them. Each kid in this school is seen in their highest vision, allowed to fully express themselves. Even though I miss them being around during the week, I love it for them.

We played on the swingset while waiting for the bus.