This is a post in a series of 31 Days of Minimalist Homeschooling. See the intro post with all the topics here.
Today we’re going to talk about what education is. Everyone has a slightly different idea of what constitutes an excellent education, and that’s perfectly ok. Every homeschooling family would have different ideas about their children’s education, and that’s also ok.
In order to make homeschooling easier, it’s important to define education for yourself. It will help you develop a philosophy of homeschooling (more on this later in the series), which will make your choices of curricula and your daily schedule simpler to create as well.
Think about why you chose homeschooling or are considering it.
What is the most important benefit in your estimation? Are you concerned about the quality of your child’s education? Do you want to mesh your child’s secular education with religious instruction? Is it important to you that your child be accepted into college, or are you more concerned with teaching your child to be an entrepreneur or to respect and care for the planet?
What is truly important to you and how do you want to impart that to your child?
This answer is important because your child is yours, and you are in the best position to teach him.
Here are a few ideas from others on the meaning of education.
“A great education is one that is customized to the individual. The amazing thing about home school is that we have the ability to give our children a completely customized education! Parents have the God given ability to see their children’s gifts, facilitate their development, and guide them in a way that will benefit them forever.” – Homeschooling mom of 3
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” – Albert Einstein, physicist
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats, Irish poet
“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey, philosopher, psychologist, education reformer
Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.” – John W. Gardner, 1912-2002, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon Johnson
“The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child’s home. – William Temple, English bishop, teacher
“How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is better than silver.” – Proverbs 16:16
“An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” Proverbs 18:15
“You must impress these words of mine on your heart and your soul and […]. Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.” – Deut. 11:18, 19
If you haven’t yet solidified in your mind what education means to you, I encourage you to do that now. Even a few sentences drafted on paper will do, you can always edit them later as you learn more and grow.
What does education mean to you?
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