Benefits of Educating Our Own Children
Benefits of Educating Our Children~ As a Means to Combating the ‘teach-to-the-test’ Strategy Adopted by American Public Schools
They say that knowledge is power, but what is the power that is actually being referred to? Is it the power to score high on high-stakes tests, or the power to getting a strong SAT/ ACT score? Or perhaps are people referring to the power of free and critical thought? Or the power to problem solve? The power to be creative and think outside the box? The latter is a typical concept not being referred to. We all say or typically adopt the phrase, but how often do we define what the ‘power’ is or what this ‘power’ grants our kids?
The power for children to be successful? That’s what we tell ourselves right? We say that then complain about what our kids are or aren’t learning at school. I also hear a bunch about how the TV or various modes of screen time are teaching them this or the video games are taking away from their learning. All these are very legitimate complaints, that they beg a larger question. Is it easier, in terms of time and frustration to allow all these ‘other’ mechanisms to teach your children? Or better yet, are we taking the time to educate our kids ourselves, our way with our own values and expectations?
Seriously, after we painstakingly put in a tremendous amount of time to potty-train; then we are diligent with teaching them to form correct sentences or use their words or ask politely, (not to mention the bulk of the outdoor time we spend teaching our kids to ride a bike; what else do we take the time to educate them on?
I challenge you to make a list of all the things that are important to you, for your child to learn. How many were you able to list? Let me guess, does your list include: being polite, smart, appreciative, disciplined, independent, responsible, kind, or caring? If you listed many of those characteristics it makes for a great list, but remember I was referring to content.
We often mix up academic learning targets with character traits. And that is usually because we own one and are okay with outsourcing the other. I’m not suggesting that one is more important than the other, I’m simply making the point that the learning targets often get neglected (the older our children get) while the character traits get more focus. It is very clear why. Don’t we send our children to school to learn the ‘stuff-schools teach’ and aren’t we suppose to take on the role of building their character?
I’m suggesting that whether you homeschool in the traditional sense of homeschooling (where your child does not attend a school daily), or not, that all parents take the responsibility of educating their children as much as you work on building their good characters. Schools in America are no longer doing a great job of helping parents with either of the two, so parents have to take on the responsibility of educating our children and also experience the benefits of doing so.
Why aren’t there tutoring centers that teach our kids to ride bicycles? Because it’s one of those things that we don’t source out, we typically do it ourselves.
Ultimately, we are the only ones who know how we want to raise our kids. What type of members of society do WE want them to be? While you don’t totally control the latter, you completely control the former. Whether you completely take them out of school and create their curriculum or you take time to help further their education by helping with homework or assignments or even creating assignments for them, we have the ability to have a say in what they learn.
So how does it benefit you as a parent to put in the time to and truly invest in the educate your child?
Absolutely!
But consider a few things:
You control what your child is learning at that moment.
No matter what type of school system you were brought up in, you probably were in an environment that had a plethora of distractions at any given time the teacher may be in front of the class. The lesson could be on science, but in the back of the class, you were secretly learning the drama between Mike and Tina.
When you take the time to teach your child, you can ensure you have their undivided attention at that moment, for the most part. Of course depending on how old your child is when you start implementing this process it may not be that easy at first. But it would be worth the effort in the end if they are a little wiser, a little more knowledgeable on a given subject. Which leads me to point another point.
You don’t get to control their learning, but you become the guardian of their views on education and other important things about their personality. You can foster a strong work ethic, impart a ‘do it until the job is done’ mentality. All of which our children won’t get at any school, public, private, or in between.
When we don’t take consider taking such control early, we’ll look up and see our child and wonder how they turned out the way they did.
2. You control the environment.
School settings only have so much freedom within the school environment. You, on the other hand, you can educate your kid whenever, wherever, or however, you like. It’s on your terms. There are no rules that you have to learn in this place or that place. In this way or that. You have the opportunity to ensure your child is engaged and not easily distracted. Furthermore, you have the opportunity to help your child with ways to combat distractions.
At home, you can set standards and expectations that are unrealistic for many teachers to do in schools. Teachers don’t have time to read assignments on the spot and to give it back to students as many times that it may require for them to finally get it right. At home you can do this while preparing dinner or in between laundry loads.
3. You give them a head start.
When you start going over topics with your kids before they get there if you decide to send them to school, you give them an opportunity boost in excelling. You help them to push themselves and excel because they already know about various topics. You’ve already taught them about it. This doesn’t just help in your major subject in schools like science or math. For instance, if you take the time to have that uncomfortable conversation with your child about reproduction, they may be less likely to fall into peer pressure concerning that area. That open line of communication may be the door to ensure they don’t make too many mistakes and that they can trust you with things.
You don’t have to homeschool your child to educate them. But giving just a little bit of your time to the concept can prove to be very helpful in the long run. What types of things are you already teaching your kids? How often are you helping them learn the subjects they bring home after school? How much open communication do you have with your child already?
In a nutshell, consider making time during a set schedule for you and your child to endeavor on a learning journey thought-of, designed, and developed by you.
All of my suggestions come from a place of my own learning as a parent. Becoming a huge role in my children’s education is something that happened with my twin girls and the journey has taken me to amazing places. Working with them in math moved me to develop an abacus math program Mathematician, Jr., which has helped me find my voice in many other areas of my life.
I’m just a mom. A wife. A teacher. Paused. Thinking. Sharing.
