Spin Cycle: Educating Jude

While I greatly admire you homeschoolers out there, I could never, ever, ever, ever do it myself. I just don't have it in me. Even though my son is truly my favorite person in the world to spend time with, I am a loner at heart, and need my alone time. Seriously. I would wither up if I was with him 24/7. I need to send him off somewhere.

Also, while I like to think I know pretty much everything about everything, I fear that I am not a particularly good teacher. It is a gift. And therefore I think it's best for me to leave such things as algebra and the periodic table in the hands of professionals.

However, there are a few things that I hope I will be able to teach the kid before he grows up and leaves my care. A few lessons, skills and truths which I have come to believe shape the quality of a person's character, give them wisdom and integrity, help them live a joyful life, and provide them with the strength to get through life's difficult times.

What I would like to teach my son...

1. Have strong beliefs, but respect the beliefs of others. You may believe something to be true with all your heart, but who are you to think your belief is more important and valid than someone else's? You may try to explain your belief to them, and try to sway them to your point of view, but in order to give your argument credence, you must learn about their belief as well. If everyone understood this, we would have no more war in our world.
2. Raise your hand. Don't be afraid to offer your opinions and know the answers.
3. Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. One of my Daddy's Atticus Finchlike sayings. I try to remember this every day when some idiot cuts me off in traffic. Because some days, I'm that idiot.
4. Know how to properly clean a bathroom. An amazing number of people do not. A little mildew spray and a scrubber sponge will serve you well in life.
5. Be part of the 20%. There's a saying - "20% of the people do 80% of the work."  Volunteer. Step up. Be a doer. Do your part. Be the one who shows up.
6. Know how to entertain yourself. You will never be lonely, and it will keep you out of a lot of trouble.
7. Have friends. They are the greatest gift in the world.
8. Be punctual. If you want people to respect you and your time, be respectful of theirs. It's just good manners.
9. Have a personal relationship with God. You may go through stages in your life when you stop going to church. You may go through periods when your behave badly and cast aside all of the church's teachings. But if you pray, and know that God is there for you, and is your greatest friend, you will always have faith.
10. Be a kind man. You're probably going to want to be a good-looking man and a smart man and a funny man and a popular man and a successful man and a sexy man...but all of those are unimportant if you are not also a kind man. Chicks will dig it.
11. The Serenity Prayer. Learn this prayer and say it often - God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I can not change, Courage to change the things I can and Wisdom to know the difference. 
12. Learn to cook. You gotta eat, right? You might as well do it with style.
13. Understand the two great rock and roll truisms. "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need." and "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." Mick and Keith, John and Paul - knew some stuff.
14. Don't have sex with a woman unless you're willing to be connected to that woman in some way for the rest of your life. Because no birth control is 100%.
15. Vote. It's not fair for you to complain about the state of the world if you're not making your voice heard. It's your right, it's your duty.
16. Don't be afraid to be the goofball. Too many people waste their lives trying desperately not to make fools of themselves. Who cares if you're a fool sometimes? Who cares if you're silly? Play! Have fun! If you accept and embrace your own foolishness, then no one can ever make a fool of you! Life is too short to be too serious! You will always be happy if you can always find the humor!

Anyone have any thoughts to add to the list?

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I hope that by now you have all learned that you must visit all of our other spinners!

Nain at View From Down Here

Vandy J at The Testosterone Three and Me

Patty at Pancakes Gone Awry

Jen at Sprite's Keeper

Ginny Marie at Lemon Drop Pie

Michele Renee at Must Be a Full Moon- NEWon FRIDAY!!

Kendra at Life in the slow lane - NEW on FRIDAY!!

PLEASE visit each and every one of them!

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Next week on The Spin Cycle...

Exercise

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! The dreaded exercise.

We love it, we hate it. We must do it.

Run? Walk? Swim? Ride? Row? Play? Dance?

Do you struggle? Thrive? Win? Collapse?

Is it an exercise in futility?

Write your spin on the topic "Exercise". Post it any time next week. Let me know in a comment. I'll link it here! Easy!

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Comments

[Ginny Marie]

This is a great list! And with just a couple of tweaks, it's great list of what I want my daughters to learn...and there are a few adults out there that need to work on this list as well!

[Giggles]

I kinda did this same thing for my girls...take a look and let me know what you think :)
http://graceful-disaster.blogspot.com/2012/01/25-real-life-things-i-hope-to-teach-my.html

[Arnebya]

Laundry! He needs to know how to do laundry. And how to be alone. This is a wonderful list, really. Regarding #14 -- My nephew left for college two weeks ago. While everyone was giving sage advice on studying and time management and the freshman 15, all I had was you can't tell a girl has crabs/herpes/HIV by looking at her. If you don't intend to be connected by that action forever and ever amen, think twice about it.

[Sprite's Keeper]

So true, all of it! I work on these things with Sprite every day. I like to think I would be a good home-schooling teacher. Some of the lessons in Kindergarten are a little beneath her level since some of the other kids have to catch up, so I usually take things one step further with her at home, working on her reading, practicing her spelling. We work well together, but I agree, that sending her off in the day is a lovely break. Too bad I spend that break working. ;-)

[Michele R.]

I am enjoying the wonderful silence of kids at school right now......
I think you have a great list. I agree with adding laundry to the list. And cooking. And being able to write a letter. And converse as opposed to texting.

I am late but here is mine!

http://itmustbeafullmoon.blogspot.com/2012/09/we-are-free-to-choose-many-paths-to-our.html

[Alaina]

Ooh, exercise...I totally can do that one. And I love these...all wonderful lessons.

[Michele]

Great list. I second the laundry addition. In fact, we taught our boys how to do laundry at 12. This is important for a whole lot of reasons that I just don't think are appropriate to state here. Just trust me on this one.

[Jan's Sushi Bar]

If I could add anything it would be:

Don't be afraid to admit when you're wrong; offer a sincere apology and restitution if you can - then do your best never to repeat whatever you said or did that was wrong. It amazes me how many people (and dare I say it? a great many are men) who cannot do this.

You will probably get a spin from me next week, since it's one of the subjects I'm tackling for my new Sanity regime. :)

[Kendra]

Those are awesome lessons. I hope he learns them and then remembers them!

[Kendra]

Also...my spin is in. Late but better than never!

http://www.lifeintheslowlane-kendra.blogspot.com/2012/09/spin-cycle-education-for-educated.html

[Elizabeth]

Never take yourself or your problems too seriously. Laugh at yourself and the absurdity of the world.

[Dawn]

Great advice list. I'll have to remember to copy that for when Noah gets older as right now 'you don't spit at anyone. ever.' is about as complicated as we get round these parts.

Geez woman, you throw a mean guilt trip. Off I go to outline an exercise post.

Have a great weekend!

[Aimee]

I am taking this list for my boys - blatant plagiarism! (Okay, I'll have to change a bit of it, as we have differing religious points of view, but at least then it'll be lest plagiaricious, right?) This is awesome!!

I would add one I was talking with the boys about recently: A true leader/wise person, is always willing to admit what he doesn't know. He says, "I don't know, but let's find out." (I'll figure out how to say that more eloquently when it's not 10:15pm.)

Oh, also my dad's famous saying, which is often-quoted by all in the family: A day without learning is a wasted day.

Daddy also told me not to judge a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins. I took this one to heart at a young age.

And don't think I didn't see what you did there in the Exercise bit. I saw the word "row." Well played, my dear, well played...