The Village Free School is like an incubator, or maybe more like a cocoon.
People come in like caterpillars. Little kids, teens, parents, volunteers even the staff. They have something in mind that they want to do or be or contribute and they are working their way through the next leafy meal to get to it. But then they are faced with themselves: their own choices, the consequences of their actions, boredom, success that only matters because it matters to them. And they are faced with community: chaos, conflict, opposing needs, choosing between doing what their friends are doing and what their heart wants, things that are not getting done, doing something because it is needed, success that only matters because it matters to others.
Eventually, and I have watched this happen over and over again, they start to discover something about who they are. They might see it more as discovering something about the world. What they find is a niche that fits them exactly. And suddenly they are off. It may be a project at school. A class to teach. A role as a volunteer. To become a staff or council member. Often the things are at school and they stay for another round, another year in the community.
Sometimes it is something outside of school, a job, more formal education, a new place to live, a great new love or passion that pulls them onward. Sometimes it is something inside the school that they suddenly become aware was missing for them and they go out to seek it elsewhere. If someone is at the right age to graduate and they present their final projects, it is clear to everyone that their move on is a success. But if it is for some other reason folks might feel that it is a failure. That the person abandoned the school community or that they failed to get what they needed.
I assert that it is always a success. Whether they were a student for 7 years or 7 months. Whether they were a parent, volunteer or staff member. Everyone who participates at the Village Free School goes through some level of transformation. The school is an incubator, a pressure cooker, a cocoon. And when people leave they are not the same as when they started. They are more of who they always were and they now know more of what that is.
So, when anyone moves on, we ought to throw them a party, at least in our hearts. Because they have found their way from caterpillar to butterfly and are ready for their next adventure. Congratulations!
images © stockxchg
