Ponies, Puppies and People - thoughts about school

As those of you who know me realize, I spend most of my off time working with  animals.  It's what I love, it instills peace (sometimes)  it is fruitful, and I am always learning more about the spirit of life.  Many people I know acquired new pets this summer so there has been much discussion about training and the success or failure of various methods.  My good friend who works tirelessly for rescue organizations and humanitarian pursuits is fostering, two other friends got their first puppies,  my daughter brought her fiery young show horse home for the summer and I have both a new, untrained horse and a puppy in residence.

As I walked the dogs in the woods this morning, I was trying to formulate some advice for the new puppy owners, and my daughter, who are struggling with what is so second nature to me I rarely analyze it. How do you get from a point of crazy, impulsive, high maintenance, frustrating and dangerous co-habitation to that peaceful, respectful, intelligent life with animals that looks so easy when it's at someone else's house?

I began to think about my philosophy of education. I realized that at the core of all young beings' development are the same basic premises.  Everyone needs discipline, everyone needs control, everyone needs an education. This pertains to horses, dogs, and children.  So much of what I apply to horses and dogs is what I have struggled to give to the children in my care.  So much of what I have learned from children, I now apply to my horses and dogs.

Freedom without license.  There it is, right from Maria Montessori, simple philosophy originated over 100 years ago and applied to the development of sound, respectful, self educating and pro-active beings.

The typical school model is one of control. Control where the kids sit, how long they work, what facts are given, how often they speak and how to be still and listen. It is the same in puppy school. On a leash they all learn to sit, stay, come and don't play.  A horse goes into training in an arena with aides to make him give to the rider.  Trussed up in bits and all kinds of gear, he will learn gaits, balance, and commands. They all learn to wait and to ' behave'.   All of these models are successful for the most part. Everyone needs some kind of formal training. However, this is just one small piece of the whole.  A living being needs so much more than training and control.

Puppies and horses need to be educated to freedom.  Long rambling hikes where dogs can use their noses, acquire physical prowess, and learn to keep an eye on the pack leader so they don't get lost are key. The joy of the air, the freedom of movement, the engaging of all senses to realize their 'dogness' is vital.  The horse needs to be worked with on ground level, played with, handled with games that employ herd behavior to help them relax  - and of course, turned out to run and play freely. In other words, they need to learn to use their brains,  to think.  If we choose to have animals, we must make time for these experiences and learn patience to cope with the process.

The same is true for children.  In our school, we believe education is a holistic experience.  We believe in freedom - to work with a material as long as we need to, to choose how much movement we need, to play with many friends or just a few. To sit in a quiet corner, to repeat an activity until we have mastered it. To be outside if we are too constrained. To make choices which have both positive and negative outcomes, and feel the result.  To be a cog in the wheel of life.  Our prepared environment is designed specifically to facilitate this natural experience.  Our teachers are patient and thoughtful, analyzing at all times the possible lesson in  what we observe, finding the teachable moment.  Applauding the good choices, sympathizing with the bad.

Do we teach facts? Sure!  Do we have children sit and wait?  Of course.  Do we  set limits? You bet.  Education must be multi faceted.  It is learning to manage freedom without license.  You can make your choices within a safe environment, while taking the consequences of the choices you make. And without infringing on the rights of others. A horse in the wild who infringes on another's space, gets a warning, then a good hard bite. A wolf puppy gets the same.  They are free, but never have license to go beyond the boundaries of their group. Everyone carries responsibility for the success of their specie's existence.


  If you aren't careful with glass, it breaks. If you lose a piece of your work, we no longer have it to use. If you are unkind, you will lose a friend.  You will have a more interesting day when you  develop the control to sit at group and watch a lesson.  But you need to respect that group and will not be invited to join until you choose to do the work of listening. You choose. You have the freedom to make that choice but not the license to abuse the situation. Simple. And ridiculously hard at the same time. This is not having the child sit at a desk and respond with a raised hand, or complete papers.  This is life.


So take that puppy to dog class, put that horse in training for the winter, send that child to school!  But do not for one second, let yourself fall in to the trap of thinking it is enough.  Think of what a spirit needs to thrive, a being to become whole.  Quiet your own self to the point where you can  understand how to meet the needs for those in your care.  Observe. Learn. Provide.  Give of yourself to help those who are learning to grow.  This is the gift of true education.