Growing up in a FolkSchool

LifeSchoolHouse kid members having a circle discussion

I remember when she walked in the door - another new face, a young mom, and I remember thinking she seemed slightly less nervous than most first-time attendees. Maybe she was drawing courage from the little baby in the car seat she had looped over one arm while in the other arm she was lugging a bag of mason jars full of jam and pickles to contribute to the community Makers Swap. I couldn’t help myself, I scooped up that tiny baby with almond brown eyes and springy black hair. In my memory she was smiling because she’s been smiling every time I’ve seen her since. As mom got absorbed into the crowd that baby and I greeted everyone, one by one. “So glad you are here. Yes, isn’t she sweet? No, she’s not mine - go say hi to her mom, she just arrived and she is new here.”

Dancing around the room already was Iris, a vivacious 4 year old who already knew how to own a crowd. When space permitted she twirled in the middle of my living room and fell down on the carpet. When she could catch someone’s eye she would tell them exactly what was on her mind at that moment. She knew how to make instant friends. Her energy was a wonderful ice breaker and somehow made it easier for folks who needed a distraction to focus on while conversations swirled around them.

My own two children were standing behind the swapper’s tables; the 10 year old was curious and brave because he was safe, in his own home. My 6 year old was keeping an eye on the cookies but tuning out the crowd as much as possible because he is much more shy. They are growing up in this space so they knew that once all the adults were done talking, there would be treats to eat so they weren’t going far. They couldn’t have known it at the time but this community is their inheritance.

Several years have passed and those babies are now putting on their own shoes and heading off to school and older kids are now teenagers looking after the younger ones but when we gather, learn, swap and connect - we are doing it for them. We want things to be different, for us, for them. We are imagining a world together, where gatherings like this are not so unusual because we are better at taking care of each other. As our children grow and leave the nest to build communities of their own they will know in their hearts that resilience comes from sharing, not hoarding, because they have seen it in action. They will know, innately, that finding each other and hearing each other and recognizing each other’s skills and ability to contribute something, anything, changes the way we look at each other and the world, and that this is good and important work. 

That’s why we meet to learn and swap and connect. This is a gift that we are giving to our children. Community building is long-game work but in our folkschools we are building the kind of world we want to leave behind for generations to come. 

-Written by Jennifer DeCoste