Valuable Education

August 27, 2021

Education is something that empowers people to make informed decisions and can alter someone's life.  Most people would agree that an education is key to someone's rise in wealth, class and/or status.  I have heard several people make the statement that the most valuable lessons they have learned they learned outside the classroom.  They are referencing the need to acknowledge experience as a valuable source of education beyond what can be learned in a classroom.  While it is true that life experience can provide some valuable lessons, I'd like to focus on the importance of the lessons learned inside the classroom.  

There has always been an emphasis on reading, writing, and arithmetic.  These are considered core subjects necessary for learning. Almost all of the very first schools required students to know these basic subjects, historically in much more detail than we learn today.  If someone can read, they can learn anything.  However, there are two other subjects that are also considered core subjects though they are not emphasized as much, science and social studies.  Science has been making a rise in the past 100 years or so as advances in technology have fostered greater interest in the sciences.  

Social science has actually seemed to decrease in importance.  Understanding the decisions of other people and groups can help inform our decisions and discussions about the issues we face today.  It has been said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  Yet even this statement seems to have been forgotten.  People fail to see any connection between those in the past and the people of today.  The more you study history, the more connections you make and the better equipped you are to face the challenges of today.  Social studies is not only a story of the past, but a study of human nature.  You can learn how societies rise and fall.  You can see how one decision by a rule can impact the world for centuries. You can see that education is not divided into subjects, but is truly all encompassing.

A full education goes beyond the "core subjects".  It allows a person to explore the things they are passionate about, learn from those who have gone before them, and create something unique as they progress forward.  An education does not just teach students how to read and answer questions on a test or a list of things to remember.  A true education teaches students to take a bit of information they have been given and to run with it.  They look at that information from various angles and perspectives.  They consider all of their options and look at how things have been done in the past.  They consider all of the arguments before making a decision on how to proceed.  Then they run ahead and forge new plans and try to push the limits of what they know into something new that they have discovered.  This is what parents are responsible for providing for their children.

There are many options for ensuring your children's education.  While every parent may come to a different conclusion as to what is best for their children and family, all parents are responsible for the choices they make.  All parents are to ensure that their child is receiving the education they need to be productive members of society.  Every form of schooling has its own advantages and challenges.  Parents cannot rely on schools to do the parenting for them.  Schools may be a tool that your family utilizes for the education of your children, but that does not negate the parent's  responsibility for ensuring their child has a well rounded education.  Embrace your role as a parent and take an active part in your children's education.