A few posts ago, I mentioned that it is difficult to wade through the parenting and homeschool options and that we are working on writing a mission statement to help sort the good from the best. Interestingly, I read an article today that spoke straight to my heart. This is an excerpt from the 2009 newsletter by the Institute for Excellence in Writing.
Time is short, and children grow quickly. Although we do not know how much time we will have, we do have today, and we can make these our top priorities: character, knowledge, skills. These are the three curricular subjects to think about each morning as we begin our day; grammar and spelling, algebra and Latin must all be subordinate to these three. Character and wisdom to know and do the right thing come what may, knowledge of the past and the present specific to one’s mission, and skills to think logically and present ideas winsomely— these three are the most, and perhaps the only really important things to consider, given the circumstances of the present. Mark Twain said,“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” What may have been humor then, is deep wisdom for us now; we must never let our concept of what “school” should be eclipse the education our children truly need.
Character is who we are, what we are made of—the essence of our heart, our integrity, our love for God, family, neighbor, community. While there are whole curriculums devoted to the objective study of character qualities, we also know that children absorb character through the themes and personages of classic literature, lives of heroes and saints, timeless stories of hope, triumph, tragedy, beauty, sacrifice. Stories help them develop their moral imagination, for as they read or listen, they ask themselves hard questions: Would I do that? Could I do that? What would I do if...? Why did that happen? Was that just? As we raise children to know good from bad, right from wrong, true from false, how to work and how to play, stories help weave the fabric of self, and allow them to know that there is indeed a land where the king loves his people, the selfless act of chivalry never goes unrewarded, and it is possible to live happily ever after. Such stories contain more truth than history, which is always written by the victors, poisoned by human fallibility, and in the end will vanish, as all material things ultimately do.
Knowledge is the stuff we learn—the information we put into our brain. Sadly, today’s educational approach is often inimical to the development of individual interests and talents,
because a standardized curriculum assumes that it is good for all children to learn the same things at the same time in the same way. This educational system efficiently produces a society of predictable, controllable voters, factory workers, and consumers, but it is definitely not an environment where students can explode with a love of learning, catch the vision of their mission, and pursue the knowledge and skills needed to reach their full potential as beings made in the image and likeness of their Creator. When considering the pursuit of knowledge, we must remember that if you’re doing one thing, you’re not doing another. If you’re reading a bad book, you’re not reading a good one, and very likely reading bad books is worse than not reading anything at all. Obviously, no one is going to learn everything about everything, but in many cases we feel as though we must “cover all the bases,” and in doing so end up with students whose awareness of science and social studies is a mile wide and half-an-inch deep; they know very little about anything. Yes, a general cultural literacy is a good thing, but human beings naturally want to specialize, to go deep, to pursue interests with passion. Einstein said over fifty years ago,“It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry.” Are our kids excited about learning? If not, perhaps it is time to rethink our goals and methods for the acquisition of knowledge.
Skills, of course, are what children will need in a practical way for their life mission. Knowing how to think is critical; knowing how to communicate thoughts is equally vital if we are to impact the culture and the society. While the study of logic and mathematics helps develop internal reasoning, communication, music, and art allow for the externalization and crystallization of thought. IEW’s areas of specialty are, of course, the arts of language: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Many of us feel—even know—that our children have a mission to communicate truth during these coming uncertain times, and that developing these aptitudes at a younger age when the mind is absorbent and talents take root is essential—something which cannot be ignored.
There are many “good” things that can be included in the curriculum of a classroom or home school. However, we must always remember that “good” can be the enemy of “best.” If we’re doing one thing, we’re not doing another, and time is our only asset. So as we consider the next week, month, or year of our teaching, let us not ask,“Is this a good thing to do?” but “Is this the best use of this child’s time?” If what we want is students who will grow up to effectively communicate goodness, truth, and beauty, we must carefully choose how we spend our resources, mentor our children with love and wisdom, constantly think about character, knowledge, and skills, and be energetic and diligent in our teaching. If ever there was a point in history when our work as parents and teachers will have repercussions beyond our imaginings, now is that time. May God help us.
