Our children are quite literally our future. What we give them today will greatly impact their expression and potential. Every human being is born into a necessary susceptibility, in which they have an opportunity to learn in every moment, to expand their knowledge in order to function effectively in the world, and also to improve the conditions of human living itself. The mechanism of education is always of primary concern then, as we have the goal to support our children, both within the home and family life, and the outer educational systems of the world at large. It has always been a great challenge to understand the best way to give them what they need, at the appropriate time, in both of these areas. The good part of a child’s susceptibility is that they are open and receptive to life and experience in every way. They essentially have a clean slate, if you will, and they begin their journey with few fears and prejudices. Yes, a child has a great capacity to love and accept, and a natural willingness to learn and grow. Their attitude is one of an exciting adventure, always, and they simply see life as an opportunity to experience something new. The challenging part is that they are also vulnerable and generally naive in many ways due to their lack of experience. Essentially, they are open to everything, both good and bad. Our goal would be to keep them as safe as we can until they have gained the necessary experience, so that they can not only survive, but be successful in all that they choose. “It’s a big world out there”, for sure, so we must prepare them to the best of our ability, without inhibiting their fullest expression. Let’s take a look.
Education at Home – The Family Life
Our role as a parent, or in many cases as a sibling, is to impart to our children what we do know. It might be more accurate to say “what we think we know!” That’s OK, we have to start somewhere. What we want to be careful of is not to teach our children that our way is the only way. Whatever our experience in life has been, however, is enough to provide a beginning for them. If we are honest and tell them, “This is what I understand the truth to be at this point”, then we have opened the door for them to explore even further. This must be our attitude, always. If we approach our teaching in this way, we can avoid that overwhelming feeling that we have made mistakes in their upbringing. Regret and guilt become unnecessary and irrelevant. What a gift it would be to let our child move out into the world and discover more truth and knowledge, and then bring that back home and share it. A wonderful gift indeed! Although we may not know the very best way, we do have the right to set forth boundaries that our children need to cooperate with. What we want to avoid is to impose a level of strictness or discipline that squelches the possibility of their future growth and development. It’s a difficult balance we hope to achieve. Perhaps the most important balance we hope to find is between wanting to protect them from the myriad of dangers that exist in the world, but also allowing them to see the abundant beauty, goodness, and opportunity all around them. The biggest mistake we could possibly make in their education would be to overprotect them. Given careful consideration, this would be cruel, would it not? To truly prepare them, is to allow them to see and be exposed to what is, at the earliest appropriate age. They will, therefore, have the opportunity to “handle” things in their own way when the time is right. Don’t keep things from them, don’t put a silver lining on everything, for if you do, they will most assuredly fail. The most difficult time in our life of parenting is that we must accept that our child will have to move out into the world and find their own way. Let them go. We have done our very best, and that is all we are required to do. They’re going to be just fine. They will, no matter our love and support, make mistakes, have setbacks and get hurt along the way. We must remember that we were able to learn and get through things and arrive where we are today. Now, it’s their time to do the same. It is through our compassion that we continue to support them, but from a distance, you see. What we cannot do, is attempt to shape our children into what we want them to be. The greatest love and gift we can provide is to let them become who they are becoming. Our children have the potential to become much more than ourselves. If we allow it, the opportunity for them to change the world and improve the human condition is much more likely. This will indeed benefit us as well.
Education at School – Formal Learning and Socialization
The first opportunity our children have to begin the process of achieving independence is when they begin attending school. This is our first step of letting go. Oh boy! I think we all need to be aware of the incredible responsibility we have placed on the shoulders of our educators. Yes, the education of, the future of, and even the safety of our children is in the hands of teachers outside the home now. The job of all these teachers is enormous and we, unfortunately, do not value them to the extent that we should. We must remember that our children will be shaped through this experience just as much as their experience at home has been. Having said that, these educators are doing the best they can with what they have been provided with.
The process of socialization truly begins here as well. The exposure our children encounter helps them grow and mature through trial and error, through the development of relationships, and through the experience of a much bigger life and world they could not possibly find at home. Certainly, the development of social skills may be more important than acquiring knowledge of math, science, and history. I would like to point out that although many of you may not appreciate what your children will be exposed to at school, there is no room for complaining, or fighting against what you believe to be wrong or inappropriate. You always have the choice of educating your children at home, and many do decide this to be the way to go. I happen to believe that public education is the best way. The level of exposure and experience to be found in this kind of education will help your children overcome fear, prejudice, and hatred. At the very least, the opportunity will present itself. This can only be beneficial, for it better prepares them for life itself with a more wholistic understanding. I can also add in here that religion and spirituality is important in the life of every human being, but it is better to keep that separate from the formal education our children receive. It is not possible for public educators to cater to every religion, belief system, or way of life. This is the responsibility of all parents and must be undertaken within the home life. For our children to receive the best education, the schools they attend need to be free of exclusivity and pandering if they are to learn anything at all. All children must feel welcome and included. Every child and human being will develop their own belief system based on their experience, regardless of what they are being taught. This must never be forgotten. It is a right and gift afforded to each of us. As difficult as it may be to accept, true learning can only happen with equality, fairness, and a sense of objectivity.
Providing Opportunity – Our Number One Goal
If we want our children to have the most opportunity, we must give each child the same opportunity. There are some people who are privileged enough to be able to send their children to private schools in order to receive a higher quality of education. I must say, I’m not sure if the teaching they receive is a lot better, it just costs a lot more. The reality, however, is that most of us make do with public education. If the majority of our children will go through the public system, then we must dedicate a hell of a lot more resources to this area. Again, the reason we do not is because of our misplaced values. We can change this. If we want our children to believe that they can be and do anything, then we must provide the very best of conditions for them. I’m afraid that we as a society have allowed only wealthy children to receive a proper education. I think we need to ask ourselves a simple question. “How could we possibly know who our children are or who they will become without presenting them with every available opportunity?” Every child is full of love, light and incredible potential. We must allow this to unfold. If we are unable to bring forth change, to improve the condition of all life and our world, perhaps they can. That would be a pretty serious investment!
Teaching our children is our number one priority. It is our only priority. Let’s give them a proper start by being honest and telling them the truth. We can believe in them by trusting them. I understand how innocent they are, and how hard it is to let them go. If we want to prepare them for life and the world, let’s not corrupt their minds and hearts with our own fears and limitations. We can let them be who they are. We can let them be who they want to be. These little lovelies are “the light of the world”!
Just a few words today, my friends. We’ll be exploring things a little further in upcoming articles in this series. Stay tuned in!
All my love and support, be well