Dan Galvin runs a Thought For The Day mailing list that I greatly enjoy. (To join send email to:
TFTD-L-subscribe-request@LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU)
Today's thought is:
He who graduates today,
and stops learning tomorrow,
is uneducated the day after.
-Newton D. Baker
(1871-1937)
This reminded me of William Yates observation: Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.
We improve the quality of education by focusing on our end goals. One of my end goals is that my daughters will enjoy learning. I want them to have a habit of learning, so when they complete their formal education they will continue to educate themselves.
If we just try to stuff data into our children's brains, and destroy their love for learning, we have committed a serious mistake. There is a balance. Children do need to learn to read, write, and master a multitude of subjects. When we lose sight of the end goal, we can harm our children in the long run.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education
2 comments:
Children "need to learn to read, write and master a multitude of subjects" so that they can do something with it, not as an end in itself. The problem with our PS system is that reading and writing and math are the goals, not paths to a goal.
There are many public school teachers who agree with you wholeheartedly. A love of learning should be the end goal. I try to keep that in mind even with the constant legislation, paperwork, and pressure to perform at a certain level on a certain test.
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