To define the criteria of an effective education, we must first identify the desired results. An effective education is more than just a diploma. That is one of the desired results, but if you’re like most parents, you want more than that for your children.
Ultimately parents want their children to grow up to be happy. And they understand that this also means being self-sufficient. Parenthood is one endeavor where your primary goal is to work yourself out of a job. You want to see your children making their own life, moving from dependence on you to living independently. It’s even better if they are contributing, actively involved in society in a positive way, whether on a local or global scale. For their emotional well-being, they need to love others and be loved in return.
We want our children to be successful, as they define success. It could be earning a 7 digit income, an advanced degree, a prestigious career, or simply pursuing their passions and interests. Their education should prepare them to find their purpose, set lofty goals and maintain motivation to reach those goals.
Seth Godin brings up a valid point regarding an effective education. “If you do a job where someone tells you exactly what to do, he will find someone cheaper than you to do it. And yet our schools are churning out kids who are stuck looking for jobs where the boss tells them exactly what to do.” If the education we provide for our children only teaches them how to be compliant and color within the lines, is it effective? Will it produce the results we want?
If the curriculum is chosen by anyone other than the student, is it teaching them how to think? When a 5 year old enters Kindergarten, they are curious and excited about everything. Somehow we manage to drum that out of them by the time they get to high school. Teenagers struggle when their course of study has been chosen for them. They often lose motivation to learn when they cannot find any meaning or purpose. They may even refuse to memorize and regurgitate facts for which they can find no value.
Some students are able to connect with a mandated curriculum and even graduate with a high GPA. However, statistics have shown that they end up working for someone else. Sometimes their employer is a college dropout or the student with ADHD who barely made it through high school. As Jim Rohn said, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”
Think about the results you want for your children. What model of education will provide those results? Mark Twain said, “Never let your boy’s schooling interfere with his education.” Is the education your child receiving preparing them to think for themselves, find their purpose in life and live their passions? Another piece of helpful advice from Seth Godin is, “Learning is not done to you. Learning is something you choose to do.” Is your child able to choose what they learn? Or is their education being done to them?
For the next two weeks I will be interviewing educators on the topic of student directed learning. Listen to these podcasts, which will be published on December 4th and 11th. The first will be talking about a model used in other countries and the second one is talking about an education model founded here in the United States. Both have a track record that has been proven to produce learners who succeed in school and later in the workplace. Learn what would work best for your child. And feel free to share your questions or comments below.