“Art is the daughter of freedom.” Friedrich Schiller

(This post has been submitted to the May Unschooling Voices, where the topic is “How has unschooling changed you?”)

I’ve been reading up on the philosophers lately in a lovely fiction book called Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder. It is the kind of book we all like to give our imaginative children. One in which real information is embedded in the story so that the reader becomes excited about the subject matter as well as the plot. Clever!

In my reading, I came across some information about Friedrich Schiller the German philosopher poet and playwright. Apparently, he compares the activities of the artist to that of playing. And he says when man plays it is the only time in which man is truly free, because that is when he gets to make the rules himself, or even create his own universe.

What a bummer then that most adults seem to loose the desire to play once a certain age is attained. Is that how our dreams wither away while the days float past? Are we all…

slaves to our work because we forgot to play? I recall a time when I thought I was trapped by circumstances and unable to free myself from responsibilities, duties, chores, work, family. I have certainly fogotten to “play” at anything for weeks on end sometimes. Was it possible those two happenings (trapped/no play) were related to each other in some way? In my case, I certainly think so!

I’ve noticed that many people get upset at the unschooling concept because it implies that people are making up their own rules as they go. That maybe people are playing instead of working. They fear that too much freedom in the hands of a child, let alone an adult, can lead to an inflexible nature when tossed in to a workworld. That may be so for some, but it is also equally likely that the person who is allowed to find through play as a child what in the world is most fun or fascinating for him to do, will end up doing that as a job. Then he would be forever playing and he might never have to consider his job some drudgery to suffer through. A bit idealistic yes, but haven’t we all met someone who knew their whole life what they loved, were driven to it and once they attained it were devoted to their lives as such? They are rare and inspiring but possibly that is because it is a rare person who is allowed so much time to explore their options when there are so many commitments (including schoolwork) to life that restrict free playtime. Now more so than ever!

This, it turns out, is one way in which I have discovered that I am an artist. I play all day. Yes, it may look like I am a 30-something (not for long) Quidditch mom driving to and fro and doing domestic chores inbetween stolen personal moments. But in truth, I am fortunate enough to get to make up the rules to my own game-if only on the very small gameboard that is our existence. If my rules are that we travel the world as an education, so be it. If my rules are we have a backwards day, a beach day and a science fair every week, it’ll most likely happen. Of course, the rules the children and Ken make up are intertwined with mine, so we are all playing the same game to some extent. True also that the elements can interfere with my playtime. Snow storms and money droughts have caused delays in the fun. But overall, these are remedied by the sheer joy of being able to play in everyday life.

Unschooling has changed my life and my understanding of life in that it has reminded me how important play is. I rarely whip out the Legos (which incidentally feature in Sophie’s World) or Star Wars figurines anymore. I still look at them with the fond awe of a woman who regrets the loss of such simple play needs. Now actual playtime looks more like art as I take up a strand of photography or writing. It takes the form of an inspiring teacher as I steer us towards a day of paper arts when one kid is sick, or a day of poetry and cartoon drawing when I notice my kids have been rhyming or reading the funnies a lot. Do I sneak in a poem by Shelley or a book by Berkely Breathed? Probably. More importantly, to have the time to develop these interests, both personal and family interests, and no matter how short that time is, makes me grateful and happy.

To see my kids play unfettered for hours on end, letting their passions blow them about and lead them to newer and crazier projects tells me something about life. I’ve heard unschoolers say a thousand times that playing is learning and I’ve always wondered what the hell they were talking about. How can a 9-year-old sitting on the floor with dolls be learning? What exactly are they learning as their contemporaries are tossing back textbooks of data elsewhere? Do they know about DNA yet? Can they point out Asia on a map? Can they comprehend fractions?

Reading a few more of Schiller’s maxims helped me to unravel that mystery:(cue pompous accent, imagine frilly wig and ascot)

“Dare to err and to dream. Deep meaning often lies in childish plays.”

“Freedom can occur only through education.”

“In the society, where people are just parts in a larger machine, individuals are unable to develop fully.”

The key to education is the experience of beauty.

What does the girl with the doll learn? She learns that life sometimes is full of work and sometimes full of play. Play is when there are beautiful stretches of time to imagine things and make her own universe. Those things she imagines while playing with the doll might lead to some deep thoughts, such as wondering why we reproduce; or ideas to do other things, like build a doll bed. If someone had to tell her to build a doll bed or why we reproduce she might not care that much or even pay attention because it wasn’t an idea that motivated her or stemmed from her imagination. She might end up liking to make a doll bed after all. But that is not the point. The real education for a child comes from realizing the power that arises by creating something from your own mind. It shows them that they can achieve and learn because they chose to. Not because everyone has to. Coming to that conclusion by acts of free will makes a much more willing student of life.

I hope you play, be free, make art and educate yourself today also. May my puritan ancestors not break loose from their graves tonight to haunt me for saying so.