In the state of North Carolina you have to register your homeschool when a student reaches the age of seven, officially the first grade year. I was eager to register, to become official to the state, but needing to give our homeschool a name that will stay with it until the end made me anxious.
My husband and I discussed options: Should it include our last name? Our street or town name? Should it reference the educational philosophy that is guiding my education decisions...and will I still be aligned with that philosophy ten years from now? Should it be inspirational? Or should it sound like a 'real' school so their diploma doesn't embarrass the children years down the road?
I wanted the name to include the word 'liberty'. More than anything education has to be free, not forced. Schooling can be forced - you can require the hours be put in, you can give tests and grades, stickers for completing a chapter, or more time at the table for daydreaming when your child is not focused. But a real education cannot be forced. It is not something that I can give to them, it is something that each of us have to take for ourselves. A real education is inspired from within. That is liberty in education. Unfortunate for me, my husband has negative associations with the word so we kept searching.
We started thinking about our sons' heritage. They are Guatemalan and became a part of our family through adoption. We went through Spanish words, Mayan words, significant town names in Guatemala, Mayan gods...searching, searching. And when we thought of the quetzal, we knew we had our answer.
The quetzal is the Guatemalan national bird and is the center of our family crest. To us it represents our connection to Guatemala and to nature. Quetzals are magnificent to look at and are rare to see in the wild. They were honored by the ancient Mayans and are still protected in Guatemala. And the best part? As they are nearly impossible to keep alive in captivity, they are a traditional symbol of liberty. Ahhh. Serendipity.
