Farewells from Whole Child/Whole Parent
Polly Berrien Berends
As the truly parently parent is the childlike parent,
As the truly nourishing parent is the nursing parent,
As the truly teaching parent is the learning parent,
As the truly freeing parent is the obedient parent,
As the truly unifying parent is the unified parent,
As the truly beautifying parent is the truthful parent,
As the truly creative parent is the beholding parent,
As the truly communicating parent is the listening parent,
So is the truly loving parent after all no parent at all, but only the loved child of God.
Song of the Seeing Being
The more we see that seeing is the issue in life, the more we look at everything for what it has to teach us.
The more we look at everything for what it has to teach us, the more we see that we are being taught.
The more we see that we are being taught, the more we know that we are loved.
The more we know are loved, the more lovingly we are seeing.
The more lovingly we are seeing, the more loving we are being.
The more loving we are being, the more we see that seeing is the issue in life.
[start over]
Dear Families,
My hope is that these updates from parent & child classes are helpful to you. As we look ahead toward the summer and the new school year, I want to make information available to you without these posts becoming an annoyance. For current Rosebud children who are moving on to the Butterfly nursery, please let me know if you want me to keep you on the parent & child list as well next year. For everyone else, I will assume that you wish to continue to receive information unless you tell me otherwise. You can email me or call the school 341-5686 or tell me in person. You can also visit the Dewdrop and Rosebud google groups page, click on Edit my Membership on the right side of the page, and click on Unsubscribe.
As I have written before, Polly Berrien Berends' Whole Child/Whole Parent continues to provide me inspiration and insight. I recommend her book. Our school library will procure new, updated copies this summer. One of my favorite aspects of Berends' style is that she places revisions and additional reflections in updated copies of this book--"This is what I thought 20 years ago, but here, now, are my additional reflections." Her style of writing reflects her recommendation for parenting--rather than seeking an easy answer, we accept the challenges as an ever-continuing opportunity for development and growth. At the end of her book, Berends reprises "The Song of the Seeing Being" and reframes the concept of farewell and good bye as "bon voyage"--or, for her, "good seeing."
Here is a talk on orality, literacy, and excitement by Professor Barry Sanders--author of A is for Ox and founder of the Pasadena Waldorf School. Although Sanders' style and topic may seem different from Berends', and although his piece provides a response to times of crisis in the broader culture, his complex search for simplicity and renewal in the human breath harmonizes with Berends' approach. Like James Joyce (and many others), both Sanders and Berends help show us that the "longest way round is the shortest way home," that often to find the simple solution, we have to take the complex path.
I will be presenting songs, music, rhymes, gesture games, and puppet shows at the Langley library on Tuesdays in July at 11am. Some of the material will be familiar to your child.
Bon Voyage and Good Seeing,
William Dolde
