Dear HLC Parents,
 

Jennifer, Jill, and I would like to take a moment to say thank you for sharing your children with us, and to share how much we enjoy serving this beautifully diverse learning community.  As you know, in addition to facilitating in the classroom, we are also parents of HLC students, and truly love the opportunities that the diversity of this program has afforded our own children. The HLC has unschoolers, we have those who follow a specific curriculum, and we have eclectic folks who follow something in the middle.  Christians, Jews, Baha’i’, Agnostics, Athiests, Buddhists, Muslims, and Rastafarians are members of our community.  We have families of all kinds:  mom and dad, two moms, single parents, grandparents, cousins, and all possible configurations.  We have folks from Japan, China, India, Nigeria, Somalia, Jamaica, South Africa, France, Australia, Germany, the UK, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, the Shawnee Indian Tribe and more.  We are blessed to be part of an amazing group of people.
 

Even with amazing people, we realize that it is not always easy to forge a sense of community from so many differing perspectives.  Over the years, when issues around differences have come up, this is how we believe it has benefited our own children:   We love the diversity because it is wonderful for our children to see that everyone is not like us, that there are multiple, valuable ways to live.  At the same time, we use the diversity of the HLC to discuss our own family values and what we find important.  It is an opportunity to teach our children that we can come together as a community, even if we don't agree on everything.  We can tell them that we do not need to agree with how others use media or whether they are vaccinated or not.  We can teach our children that, no matter what, they must respect others and be impeccable with their words, even when they disagree.  They can do that and still value their own family beliefs.  We know that our children need to practice expressing these complex ideas, and that they won't always do it perfectly.  As we seek to prepare them for the world they are destined to inherit, we realize that it is our example and gentle guidance that matters most.

 

We view our small community as a microcosm of the world.  Within our community there are differences of opinion, of educational philosophy, of race, of religion, of sexual orientation, of parenting, and of nutrition and healthcare practice.  We love that in the HLC we can come together to learn and explore the world, sharing our journeys with respect, kindness, and joy.  And even though it isn't always easy, it's worth the effort.  What a wonderful legacy to leave our children!

 

Thank you for sharing your beautiful diversity with us!

 

Joyful Learning,

Teresa