Even though our school years will eventually be behind us, education should never end. We were made for learning…
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid activist and politician
I never thought much about school until I had children who would eventually need to be schooled themselves. I went to public school, attended a state university, and even studied a year abroad. But these were just well-worn paths on the journey of education.
When my children started to enter the public school system where we lived, I began to see education a little differently. I saw that there was more than one path. That kids were sometimes meant to take the less well-worn one. And success in school didn’t always equal success in learning.
I homeschool my kids these days not because of a failure of our local school district or because their teachers were anything but wonderful. I homeschool them to give them an education that is personalized to them. Because we are all born as different kinds of learners. And we have different strengths and weaknesses that can’t always be addressed in school.
So we homeschool. And in teaching my children, I have learned myself.
Education should never end
Revisiting subjects with my kids has opened doors to places I thought I knew, but really, I just partially remembered. I am learning right along with my children, fascinated by the same books, mystified by the same science experiments, and stumbling through the same algebra.
With each step they take, I take one alongside them. And it makes me a better teacher, and a better person.
I can look back at my education now and see the holes left by teachers and my own lack of effort. Now I’m reading books from English Lit lists and seeing why they matter. I’m listening to recordings of college lectures on history and science so I can better explain them to my kids and understand them myself.
I’m continuing my education because our brains are meant to learn. Not for 13 or 17 years, but for a lifetime.
God created us with higher processing brains than all other creatures. He gave us the capacity to learn and think. Education was built into our DNA. Not just for the sake of knowing, but so that we can use the things we learn to broaden out perspective. To see the world. To better understand and help each other live better lives.
Education is a gift many of us have been given and others are still fighting for. And it is a God-given gift. One we should appreciate and use our whole lives. I hope that you, too, will continue to learn and use this blessing as God intended. For the betterment of man and His creation.
Have a blessed Monday!
Looking for more encouragement and inspiration? Try these posts:
Inspirational Monday: Learning Our Lessons
What I Learned from My Month as a Pioneer Woman
Inspirational Monday: How Encouragement Leads to Learning
How to Inspire Curiosity, Creativity, and a Love of Reading in Your Children
It’s very true that you really get to know a subject when you start teaching it! Education is a journey, one that often circles around so that you can learn things on a deeper level. Love it!
The personalized part of hone home school is the best! We are trying to bring some of that into our lives now that our kids are back in “regular” school. We are all life long learners and I hope to cultivate that in my kids. Thanks for sharing this reflection. 🙂
I don’t think I realized how much we are lifelong learners until I had kids. After college, I thought I was done with learning, at least book learning. But now I feel reinvigorated to keep the practice of learning up. Thanks for reading my post!