Today my Daughter and I visited a rock quarry for her school. I took the day off work. The teacher had the chaperones meet at the school. She had the kids in a routine. She new exactly what she wanted the kids to do. There was a system. I was impressed. I am advocate for changing education for kids.
I think the education system could use a slight overhaul. This is something I came about haphazardly. I was not close with my Grandfather. I did not understand him until recently. I can’t disclose all the details about him. He was a very private man. My family would want to respect his wishes. To sum it up, he did some extraordinary feats. One of the last correspondences I had with him was an article sent to me about education. How some schools were embracing common core values. I am not a fan of common core.
The only issue I have with education is there are some key fundamentals for success that are not met. The kids are not taught resiliency, creativity, vulnerability, courage, the merits of honesty, how to be good friends, delayed gratification, history, critical thinking, financial skills, and many interpersonal skills.
There are some good teachers out there. I think they allow for some curiosity. Which is key to learning. Because we were on a field trip, I think the teacher may have felt more freedom. She encouraged the children to help each other find the beautiful rocks from the ordinary stones. Some were from deep in the ground. They were white, had crystals, were shiny, and were almost translucent. Her teacher made sure each student had some special stones. The kids enjoyed searching for them. The sad truth is that some teachers have to adhere to rigid standards set for by politicians and bureaucrats.
What is not taught in most schools is for the students to understand that they have to dig deep within them and find their special qualities and shine to do the great tasks in the world. They don’t understand how extraordinary they can be if they are encouraged and taught the skills that make them stand out.