Today we have Part II of our Parent Stories from our Family Business Meeting. First up a reflection from new parent Meredith McCall. Please see below for a transcript of the the video.
New Parent Story: Meredith McCall from SLO Classical Academy on Vimeo.
Hi everyone my name is Meredith McCall. I am a mom to 4 very spunky kids here at SLOCA. We’ve got a middle schooler all the way down to a pre-schooler. When thinking about the “more” that we were looking for at SLOCA I kept reflecting back on the word – CONNECTION. It is clear that the desire and need for true connection to self and others is at an all time high, in our homes, places of business, and schools. SLOCA filled a need for us with the hybrid program because after a year of full-time homeschooling, I realized that being a full time homeschool mom wasn’t in my wheelhouse. With that said, the guidance/structure and very hard work from teachers and staff and curriculum at SLOCA is something I am endlessly grateful for. This year has been refreshing in many ways and it’s also had its challenges as we’ve tried to settle into our home days and work with the many different personalities within our house. Our time together at home and within the SLOCA community secures that desire and innate need for connection both at home and at school.
With that I’d like to share a quote from one of my favorite parenting books called “Hold on to Your Kids – Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers” by Gordon Neufeld and Gaber Mate.
“The key to activating maturation is to take care of the attachment needs of the child. To foster independence we must first invite dependence; to promote individuation we must provide a sense of belonging and unity; to help the child separate we must assume the responsibility for keeping the child close. We help a child let go by providing more contact and connection than he himself is seeking. When he asks for a hug, we give him a warmer one than he is giving us. We liberate children not by making them work for our love but by letting them rest in it. We help a child face the separation involved in going to sleep or going to school by satisfying his need for closeness.”
While this year has had its ups and downs, it has been this mentality that has kept me working, because it is so worth it.
– Meredith McCall
Next is a reflection from SLOCA High School senior and Student Body President, Amea Haar.
High School Student Story: Amea from SLO Classical Academy on Vimeo.
Hello Everyone!
My name is Amea Haar and I am a Senior at SLOCA High school as well as this year’s Student Body President. I wanted to share a little bit about how SLOCA has prepared me for life.
I have been enrolled in SLOCA since first grade and have benefited from its curriculum for 12 years. Throughout this time SLOCA’s program has cultivated in me the skill of gathering ancient diverse bodies of knowledge and applying it to my personal life. Works such as Moby Dick, Les Miserables, and John Keat’s Ode on a Grecian Urn, have actual bearing on my life, beyond simply achieving an A on a paper. Instead, these texts actually teach me how to care about and interact with other humans. SLOCA taught me not only how to do an assignment but why to do an assignment. SLOCA has revealed to me a world in which different subjects are not isolated from one another, but instead a vast web. Information learned in Biology class also appears in History class, and every further connection between the subjects I discover matters to my humanity and character.
This idea of education as essentially personal is at the forefront in my mind and I hope next year to begin college studies in science and go on to become a doctor or nurse practitioner. My medical, ‘sci-ency’ job can and will be improved and shaped by reading and studying Homer’s Iliad and other great books and I will assuredly continue my own education in these things long after they have ceased being course requirements.
Of course these things have not come without challenges. Reading crazy long and complicated books is, to state it generally, very difficult. I definitely shed many tears over English essays or studying for algebra and anatomy tests. But in all of these things my teachers were there for me. Willing to help and support me in answering questions outside of class, helping me revise essays, and wanting me to understand. They pushed me to improve, which hurt at times, but always made sure I had everything I needed to succeed and grow. So for anyone out there struggling, take it from someone who has been through it. You’ve got this, and it’s worth it.
– Amea Haar
Thank you Meredith and Amea for sharing your stories with our community!
