Hey Dibi: A Surf Mom's Perspective on Homeschool

Editor’s Note: Have a question for Dibi Fletcher? After a life under the sun, she’s definitely got answers. Or at least a perspective. Don’t hold back, shoot her a DM on Instagram and ask away. Here’s this week’s dispatch from surfing's most radical mom...

Hey Dibi…. My wife and I have three young children. The oldest started first grade this August and she seems so stressed everyday before school, what do you think about homeschooling, my wife and I are on the fence? - Home School or Not
Hey Home School Or Not… I went to school decades ago and remember to this day how I felt in school. I was made to feel different, I was, but it wasn’t I was less than that teachers tried to make me feel, I was extremely curios, and not so willing to follow the crowd. I left school in my high school sophomore year. I had kids in my teens and thought I’ve gotta do the right mom thing and make the kids fit in…  I sent them to school, and after a few years it was apparent, I would never pick these “teachers” guiding my kids as friends, why would I allow them to tell my kids how to feel about themselves and the world around them. Do I think school has changed since my youth, or my kids? I’m sure it has and unfortunately, I don’t believe it is for the better. I’m sure you and your wife know other couples with kids facing the same dilemma, build a community of like-minded parents sharing the educational responsibility. If you and your wife are good at something teach that, get your friends to teach what they know… take your kids education home. Have them read the classics give them an education that fosters intellectual curiosity… Do It!!!

Hey Dibi…. Did Herbie film all those Wave Warrior videos? Or did he have a side kick who helped him? - SD 4th Generation
Hey SD 4th Generation… There were five installments in the Wave Warrior series that were primarily filmed by Herb and two other movie photographers who worked for him. He also bought clips from some of the other outstanding water photographers working at the time. The process of making a surf movie with film was so much different than the digital process of today where everything is pretty much taken care of with “point & shoot”. It was a bigger production from recording original music to sitting over a film splicer cutting and pasting sections together. It was a slow, laborious, expensive labor of love from start to finish. So grateful we had the opportunity to work with so many unique and gifted people. From the surfers to the film techs each movie was truly an amazing learning experience.

Hey Dibi…They say “surfing keeps you young”. Funny, all I see is wrinkled skin, torn ACL’s and a line of washed-up dreamers waiting for hip replacements. Where’s the fountain of youth? - Old Salt no Filterou
Hey Old Salt No Filter… Sounds like you’re in desperate need to broaden your horizons and change the mirror you’re looking into and seeing your old self staring back. If you’re surrounded by all your maturing friends who share stories about “what is was”, their next doctor appointment and the commemorative paddle outs that seem to come more frequently you’ll be spending more waking hours living life in the rear-view mirror than the present or planning for the future. You need to get out of your comfort zone, push yourself to do something different, you may not be able to do the things you did 30 years ago, so what, neither can anyone else, but now is the time to do the things you didn’t have time to when you were in your prime physicality. Learn to play an instrument, speak a foreign language, play chess, dance, the possibilities are endless and with everything available online the only thing stopping you, is YOU. The choice to change is yours time is short, Go For It…

Hey Dibi… I bought a beach house years ago to live the surf dream. Now I spend more time fighting the Coastal Commission over protecting my house from erosion and sewage spills than surfing. What happened to the California Dream? - Costal Bummer
Hey Coastal Bummer… I grew up on the beach in California and your story sounds unfortunately familiar. I don’t think any of us early homeowners could ever have imagined that constant tinkering of the civil engineers that have so dramatically changed the entire California coastline would be the loss of sand that made the area so desirable. Adding insult to injury, the unelected officials who make up the Coastal Commission won’t allow homeowners any options to protect their homes from what looks to be the inevitable destruction of personal property. There are a few groups like Pacific Legal Foundation and Coastal Rights Coalition that fight for coastal homeowners’ rights that you might want to contact for information… Good Luck.

Hey Dibi… I flew 14 hours, paid $200 a night, and fought crowds for one wave. Should we just rename surf trips to “Airbnb paddling contests”? - Surftripping
Hey Surf Tripping… I don’t want to be rude, but I have to say I laughed out loud when I read this. It’s mind blowing to think this is where surf travel has come to. I remember going to Hawaii as a kid on a propeller plane before jets were available and there were no footprints in the sand at most of the breaks my family went to, and here we are now at the “Airbnb paddling contest” a few short decades later. I don’t have the answers, but it does seem to me if there are Airbnb’s available the place has been more than discovered. In the future you might consider a place with little modern convenience and I’m sure you’ll find it a lot less crowded. Safe Travels