I was on a great discussion forum today where we’re talking about how do we make sure that our kids get a good quality education. You can learn more about this group of people at Educating for Success.
Paula Farris from Dementia Caregiving 101 asked some very thought provoking questions. How would you respond?
- Was your own education relevant to how you live your life today? If not, have you managed to learn what you need to know or do you need to find ways to learn that information or those skills?
- Are your children being educated in a way that actually causes them to learn and to retain the information, skills and knowledge they need now and will need in the future? What can you do to facilitate this kind of education for them?
- Are you and your children keeping up with Information Age technology? It isn’t possible to know everything and how it ALL works because it evolves so quickly, but knowing some of it very well, some of it passably well and at least being familiar with all of it is a necessity in today’s global techology world.
Let me know what you think about this.
Thanks for the shout out Susan!
I love the simple, clean layout of your site, much like education should be simple and open our minds (and our children’s minds) to the big, bright world around us. Your site conveys that thought very well.
To answer the questions:
1. In evaluating my own education, which I have done extensively over the past several months, I have come to realize that most of the things that I know have been self-taught. I taught myself to read at age four and have been reading EVERYTHING since then.
Whatever I show an interest in I read about it from many different sources. I know a lot about many different topics.
Unfortunately, I haven’t always “been interested” in topics that really matter. Knowing trivia would be valuable if I were a game show contestant, but not always in real life. I am now learning how to focus my attention on relevant topics to help me succeed in life and in business.
2. My children do not seem to be self-starters (too much of mom in them 🙂 so I have to really push them to pursue the areas of education that interest them. They don’t often seek out knowledge, but when they do they really learn it!
My oldest (20 yo son) is attending Culinary School. He has enjoyed cooking since he was a child. I gave him free access to the kitchen and the freedom to create, but he rarely did so unless I required it of him. But now that he is in college and WANTS to learn it he is constantly talking about cooking terms and ingredient combinations and creating all kinds of delectable dishes.
All of my older children (20, 16, & 14) have the basics of education (though they all have their weak subjects), but so far I have struggled with lighting that fire in them that drives them to educate themselves.
I have learned a lot, though, and my 3 yo son will hopefully get motivated to learn at a much younger age.
3. I love the Information Age! If I could I would learn everything there is to know about it. I think the Internet provides us with such a fantastic opportunity for business, education, networking, and many other areas.
My children tend to go with the latest teen trends and other than producing some very silly videos, don’t use the computer for much of anything. My oldest is actually pretty computer illiterate! I hope that they all can see the value in the Internet and other technological opportunities before they get left behind. At least they’ll have their Mom to teach them when they realize that they need it! And my youngest son will be required to learn and to utilize technology in most of his studies.
This is a LONG post, but I hope I answered the questions adequately.