accumulated power

In the second reading session of "A Glance at Segu", the chapter discussed by everyone was "What is 'mobility'?". "Agency" refers to the self-confidence and ability to face the world, freedom from being controlled by others, and trust in one's own independence.

The chapter recounts the impression of a former student at Sudbury Valley School in the United States: "When I first walked in here for an admissions interview, the most powerful thing I saw was that children can go everywhere they want to go. The place. Some people were on the basketball court and went to the swings; kids would move from room to room. I felt empowered, not being controlled by others, going where I wanted to go, it felt influential, you Being able to do what you want and go where you want to go is really empowering.”

When people say children are "powerful," they usually think of something big, like building a wooden house for a homeless person, saving a swarm of turtles, or at least getting good grades. However, the example here is just that the child can go from one room to another.

I remembered one time when I was sitting on the grass garden of Seguk in Hong Kong and saw a seven-year-old boy in Seguk running out of the room and running towards the toilet. That scene was very unforgettable to me, because the boy turned his head slightly to the sun and closed his eyes gently, as if enjoying the sunshine on his face, running and smiling. After he went to the toilet, he also smiled and ran back. "How can anyone go to the toilet so satisfied and happy?" I thought to myself.

For adults, it is a matter of course that they can move freely from one place to another. But in general schools, children must obey authority and cannot move around freely. Every day and every behavior must be approved by adults. The little boy was free to go from one place to another; when he wanted to urinate, he went to the toilet. For children, they do not have to rely on external recognition such as grades or praise to feel strength. These "trivial" freedoms are enough to allow them to truly feel their autonomy and accumulate inner strength.

Parents in the book club shared their children's "trivial" clips:

Daughter used her pocket money to buy beloved things;

Toddlers decide on their own whether to take the elevator or take the escalator;

After teens begin to learn life by themselves, they decide their work and rest time according to their own physical needs;

When my son goes to the restaurant, he reads the menu and orders the food he likes...

Parents say that the accumulation of these seemingly small freedoms allows children to deeply experience power and become more and more happy, confident and capable.

I often hear some adults say that although they are decathlons, they always feel that they are not good enough, or that they need external admiration to feel self-worth. This may be due to the lack of "activity". In the process of cultivating knowledge and skills since childhood, 㧪killed autonomy and freedom and trust in oneself.

Segu cherishes every "trivial" opportunity for freedom and autonomy, and allows the experience of "running to the toilet freely and happily" into inner strength.

I wish you all a free and independent new year!