The Golden Rule

"Treat all others as you would like to be treated yourself."

When I was teaching full-time in the public schools, I would begin the school year with this quote from the Bible and work at it for weeks, doing all kinds of activities, with the hope that it would stick enough with the kids to make a difference when they were not getting along. Now that I'm not teaching anymore, and living my life with four little ones and a great husband, this has become our family's guiding principle. It helps to keep us on track and aware of other people's needs....it helps us to be understanding when someone is having a hard time. And it helps all of us to be more empathetic. Everything can come back to this, be discussed and we can move on, living our lives based on principles instead of full of rules.
Recently, we had a visit from some friends from Mexico. They were full of questions about homeschooling....how do we address all of the curriculum areas, what about high school, do the kids play with other kids their own ages, when do I get a "break", etc., etc. After they left, my husband and I were talking about the conversation and he noted that they just could not see things from our point of view.....for most, including them, they have the impression that if academics are taken care of, everything else will follow. We feel that if the relationships come first, the learning will follow (and does!)......So, we're focusing on the well-being of our relationships, using the golden rule as our guide.