No One Expects The Spanish Inquisition!
arun on Oct 10 2007 at 6:07 am | Filed under: 2 to 4 year old, 4 to 8 year old, laugh, natural learning, unschooling | Click here to go HOME | or find out about SUBSCRIBING TO THE PIT |
Conversations with M, our daughter sometime remind me of a river.
It flows – crashing and cascading at one moment, slowly sauntering the next. These discussions seem to meander in all sorts of directions driven by her insightful and often ecclectic waves of questions and observations.
That to me is one of the amazing things about Natural Learning and unschooling – having the time and ability to actively encourage this flow and never needing to define, obstruct or restrict it with schedules or lesson plans.
But I admit when Im tired or focused on something else, getting caught up in the river can be disconcerting. I also know that a long journey can begin from the smallest spark – for example initial questions might come from me using a new expression (eg. “what does that mean?”), simply smiling at something (eg. “what’s funny?”) or sometimes they seem to come from some deep, profound place of introspection and connection with the universe (eg. “why doesn’t Grand Ma like nose picking?”).
The classic Monty Python sketch took the phrase “No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition” to a ridiculous new level. Not familiar with it?… then congratulations, you are not tainted by the a mispent youth of watching Monty Python Flying Circus. If you are curious Ive included the YouTube link to part of the episode in question…
No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition hey? Well if you’ve got kids… you will no doubt start to expect it at every turn!
On the subject of hilarious, gratuitous but slightly topical YouTube videos – while talking about children’s questions I could not resist the classic 25 second conversation between John Candy and “the kid” in Uncle Buck…
Hmmm… I started raving about rivers then ended up with Uncle Buck… Ive obviously been hanging out with my kids too much 
Thanks for linking to your blog at crunchy-unschoolers. I have been reading here for half an hour now. Lots of wisdom and laughs.
I know those conversations that turn and twist in every direction, sometimes rolling slowly and sometimes rushing through rapids. LOL It’s eciting and yet so tiring at the same time. But I wouldn’t trade them for the world.
LOL You must be a fly on my wall!
My problem is–the quesions start the moment he wakes up and they do not stop until AFTER bedtime! Yes, they continue while he lie in his bed in the other room **sigh** and I simply get exhausted LOL I tell him my brain needs a break, a few moments to simply think, my brain needs time to wake up–it’s like a snail in the morning, slowly emering from its shell. He doesn’t quite buy it or simply cannot control himself. And if I do not have the answers–he gets infuriated with me. Yes, we can look them up, but why don’t I know such things…..especially if I used to be a TEACHER???!!! One topic leading into another–in rapid succession.
Our last two big discussions–eminent domain and the civil rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s–different days. Go figure–my 7 year old politician….oh, and he simply cannot understand that somebody may like GW Bush (maybe even a few relatives) and that talking negatively about him in public as if all are in agreement with him isn’t always the best idea…yes, the Spanish Inquisition indeed!
Funny, funny! And a great link to Monty Python too!
I love that you started with a meandering river and ended with Uncle Buck! It makes you very, very real. I’m rather new here - so hallo, and good stuff!
And to Shawna (in case she checks back), I have a heavy-duty questioner too. And now he’s 15 and I’m sooo glad I never squelched his love for questions and conversations, because we are very open with each other when other teens, who don’t feel respected for whom they are, aren’t usually. I remember once explaining that my son’s frequent questions were how he learned best, because he always took the answers very seriously. I said it was very interesting. And I’ll never forget what the other person said: “Or, it’s just annoying.” Just solidified my belief that i didn’t want to be like that toward my child. Or anyone’s child.
Namaste~
This was just the refreshing kind of read I needed this morning (heck, anything with monte python skits has to be good). I love those never-ending questions that lead me off into worlds I never imagined.:) The kids are really great tour guides that way. Unknown territory. Good stuff.
I’ve had a couple of really interesting river conversations with my son, age 5, recently. One was in the car on the way to the woods for a hike. We were listening to Harry Potter book 4 in the car, and he asked about dementors and what they are and what they do. As I explained and more questions followed, we finally ended on evolution and the beginnings of the earth before his attention shifted to our hike with friends.
Another that was really hard for me as a parent trying to explain the war to a five-year-old, I detailed in my personal blog here: http://www.annakiss.com/2007/08/last-night-jon-and-i-went-to-see-death.html
Thanks for the blogging - I’ve sent several articles to a newly unschooling friend and my husband. It’s always good for me to think on these things to keep a sane mind about my life.
oh! I love you guys! It’s so nice to read your blog; it’s like having my batteries re-charged. I’ve been feeling a little tired lately of being the only unschooling parent in my reality. Funnily enough, the “no one ever expects the spanish inquisition” skit has come up 3 times now in the last 2 days.
cant wait for you all to get back!
I have 4 children. The 3 older ones liked to sit and watch, they questioned only to help them really grasp the situation, they are thinkers and still are.
Enter number 4, he questions everything that is said and done. The other day I asked him to give me 5 minutes because my brain hurt, instead I got 20 minutes about my brain and why it hurt, was it like a head ache or a knock to the head, it went on and on, We thrive on it and most of the time wait to see what he has to say.
But I do love his bed time !!!