Categories: uncategorized
Date: 22 June 2008 17:42:27
This afternoon I saw Third Party onto the train, complete with rucksack, (containing a range of clothes to be carefully mixed and matched accordng to weather conditions with her wellies or her filpflops), and suitcase (which contained a camping stove, kettle and range of reading equipment). She was being sent off for the first time this summer to spend some quality time with her grandfather.
Tomorrow they all head off for Pilton in order to mix work and play at that which is the unique experience of the Glastonbury Festival .
As ever the holiday request form for the school was late and as ever I completed in the honest way which will confuddle the system. She isn't accompanying her mom on her annual holiday, 'cause mom has to work whilst the rest of the family head off to the farm. We don't tend to do annual holidays, we festivate sometimes together and sometimes seperately. "The man" I hope will understand this.
Whether it is "approved" or not though, I think that festivating is a vital part of Third Party's upbringing. Besides the fact she will spend real quality time with her extended family her next week will be spent in an environment where she will have to contribute to a temporary community; where self-centred tantrums will not/ cannot be tolerated. She will, enevitably build new friendships and possibly renew old ones, developing further her social skills. Particularly when the site opens to the public, she will also be exposed to a situation where the positive and negative effects of choices she is going to increasingly face over the next few years will be evident. In addition she will be in an environment where the clash of corprate capitalism and left field alternative culture mixes in a cultural melting pot. She's going to learn stuff which may be very useful for her forthcoming Citizenship course, aswell as learning even more to appreciate an array of different types of music. Finally she's going to have fun and be allowed to be a young person in a safe environment.
In an age when kids aren't joining youth movements in the same numbers, and getting to experience the great outdoors, festivals are a great way to teach children camping and social skills - aswell as having loads of fun.
So there you have it, whether we're talking Glastonbury, Guilfest or Greenbelt , (or even one of the many festivals which doesn't begin with G), if you're a parent / grandparent / godparent / aunt / uncle you could do worse than take your favourite young person to a festival now that summer is officially here.