Great Expectations: Wanting the Best for Our Kids
February 24, 2009
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great thinking…I hope your son becomes a “happy” individual rather than successful.
Isn’t that what we,the parents,failed to achieve in our life,impose those sub-concious wishes upon our children and make their daily life miserable.
by the way, to me,happiness is dichotomous to success . I will deal with this in my next post of my blog. Please check with.
http://evilsalternate.blogspot.com/
thanks
beg your pardon for the typing errors.
No worries, my friend. I will not be grading grammar on this blog.
I look forward to reading your next post.
Thanks!
Hi Lisis,
Thanks for another great article! We homeschool too, and after all these years (our oldest is 19) I still find myself entertaining doubts about our choices. I grew up in a very competitive educational system in So. America where the schools are ranked, the students are ranked, and the family’s honor rests on your performance in school. Obviously this kind of programming is hard to overcome…in my opinion it even reflects some of what you’ve written about addictions/compulsions.
Hi, Acooba! It’s so nice to “see” you here!
I know what you mean… I grew up in the Costa Rican private school system, and it was all about grades, performance and discipline. We even had to RE-write our class notes so that our teacher could grade those too! I felt so much pressure to perform and get fantastic grades I hardly enjoyed the process.
Sometimes I kind of envy my son because his education is ALL fun, entertaining, engaging, etc. We work at his pace and around his interests. I think that is more representative of real life: find what you are interested in, then work hard to learn all about it.
I don’t have all the answers, but I know one thing: I don’t value grades and standardized tests at all. “Train the heart, and the mind will follow.”
Thoughtful post. We live in a time that places too much pressure on kids too early. It’s better to give them guidance then allow them to be who they want. Not who we think they should be.
So true, Gennaro! Maybe one day we’ll just let kids be kids and let them have a little fun.
Thanks for stopping by!
For me it’s all about having options…
It really doesn’t matter what my boys want to be when they grow up as long as it’s something they choose. I would hate for them to be stuck in a career/job that they hate because they have no viable alternative.
As for education, I would encourage them to touch on a broad range of subjects but it would be their choice as to which ones they pursue further.
Show them the direction to happiness but let them choose their own path.
Hi, Gwynn! I totally agree that they should get to choose their path. And if they make a mistake or two, taking paths less traveled… well, that’s OK. They will have learned from them.
My approach to education is to teach my son some really solid 3R’s (Reading, Writing, Arithmetic) and a passion for learning. I figure, if he has a strong foundadion and loves to read, he can learn about anything he wants. He will discover what he likes by trying different things.
I know you and Sherri are already on the right track with your boys.
Thanks!