Live and Learn

Hi, everybody! I'm writing to you from Jamaica, New York (aka the JFK airport area), where we spent the night after a wonderful weekend in Black Mountain, NC, at the Live and Learn Unschooling Conference. I only have a few minutes, so I can't go into all the detail you know I'm dying to, but here are a few tidbits:

• My talks went well, especially the first one, "Unschooling the Wrong Way." That's from my perspective; the "Enjoying Teenagers" one received some nice feedback, too, but the first one is the one where I had more fun. It surprised me, because I felt better prepared for the teen talk. I mean, I rewrote UTWW the day before the talk. But I got into a groove while delivering it, and I got some nice laughs, so I started having fun. For the other one, I was running on nerves.
• Drumming, drumming, drumming, drumming. Ohmigosh, I had so much fun drumming. Caren brought a vanload of drums and held several drum circles, each one different from the last. I thought I was really partial to "anarchist" drum circles—where everyone does his or her own thing and this really magical, organic thing happens—but Caren organized a group of us to learn Kuku (my spelling), a West African rhythm, and perform it in the talent show. I'm still high from that night. Our practices involved a lot of mistakes and laughter, and the performance involved a lot fewer mistakes and this feeling of total triumph. We rocked the house! Everybody was on their feet, and all the kids danced like maniacs, and Caren led us to go faster than we had in practice, and it was amazing.
• I got to meet so many people I have only known online. It's kind of an odd experience to walk into a room full of strangers and discover half of them are already friends, but that's an unschooling conference for you.
• I got so much out of the other speakers' talks. I went to all of them, I think. Some brilliant people and a few new ideas to ponder. I might write more about those as I continue pondering.
• We danced! As the masquerade ball wound down on Saturday, a group of us diehards (even not-gimpy Frank) danced together. The DJ played "Bohemian Rhapsody" and we all knew all the words, including 6yo Kade, who was so obviously thrilled to be included in the big circle of teens, and the Ohmans, who belted it out with great and hilarious enthusiasm. As the song ended, I thought, "That's it, that should be the last song," but there were more, and each turned as special as the last. For "Closing Time," we all danced in a big, goofy circle, and then there was "Delilah." We were all singing along to that one when the music suddenly cut off. Undaunted, we continued singing, led by Jake Ohman, and finished off the song. It was a fun and special bonding time.

Phew! Anyway, it was a beautiful weekend, and I was so honored to be a part of it. I just wish more of the LIFE is Good part of the tribe could have been there!

More about L&L here (at the bottom) and here and here and here.