Jonathan Paskowitz and the movie documentary “Surfwise”

I recently saw Jonathan Paskowitz featured on Stephen Colbert’s “Colbert Report” in an interview about a documentary “Surfwise.” I was intrigued. This documentary is about a large family and a father who was a trained physician who decided to give up his career to raise his family living in a camper, traveling the country, surfing and actually living. The children did not attend school (it is common these days for parents to “home-school” their children) and the father felt it was more important to be wise to the ways of the world and nature than to be educated by the public school system – surf-”wise.”

Being a fellow beach-loving surfer, I was drawn to this idea and felt an instant understanding and kinship with this man who went with his convictions and raised his family how he saw fit, much to the dismay and probable disgust of the general public. Jonathan Paskowitz comes across on this interview as a very happy, nice and capable man. He seems to be happy with his life and how he was raised. However, when I later searched for signs of when this movie would be released, I found several comments regarding the movie even before it was out – comments which were, of course, the usual criticisms people seem to feel the need to give when a person chooses parenting which is out of the “norm” for general America.

For some reason, I find people tend to provide their opinion of how children should be raised regardless of the fact that no one seems to have perfected this craft. Many people provide opinions even when they have no children of their own. It is very easy to do this when you have not gone through the ups and downs of raising kids, learned the behavioral dynamics of the complicated relationships between parents and their own children as opposed to these same children and other unrelated adults.

Personally, I found that this man’s ideas were very intelligent. Keep in mind, I have not yet seen this movie. I am only going on what I heard from the interview. The movie is currently in my Netflix queue and I am anxiously awaiting its delivery.

I believe that people have, to date, not been totally successful in raising children within the public school system. I also believe the learning process is more complicated and requires individual attention. I do not think what is available in the public school system today is able to accommodate all of the intricacies of child development at each age and a more individualized approach is essential for some children. This man had a very large family and the children were able to play and socialize with each other.  He knew each of his children well and was able to teach them directly based on their abilities. They learned the ways of nature, love and life by surfing and swimming in the ocean, which is a very healthy and wonderful lesson in life. They learned to exist on just the basics, not needed all of the extra gadgets people have to have these days.

By surfing, you learn the power of the ocean waves, all of your senses are stimulated, you get to enjoy the absolute beauty of nature at its finest. Surfing makes you forget your worries and enjoy the moment. It is a healthy lifestyle with exercise which is also fun.

These children lived in a small camper with their entire family  (possibly a little too cramped for their tastes), but learned how to live closely together similar to how people lived in teepees - cozy with the ultimate display of family togetherness. The parents were obviously close and loved each other and the children were able to see that openly and honestly.  

I can’t wait to see this movie. I am hoping that I am not disappointed and that these children are happy adults raising their children in a similar manner and that many people learn from this movie. I will be sad if this movie ends up showing that this life lead to dysfunctional adults. I am hoping that this movie backs up my thoughts that his was a good idea.

I will post a follow up after I have seen the movie!