What does the word 'Education' mean to you?
/I’ve been speaking to so many of you these last few weeks and one thing is crystal clear to me.
There seems to be a lot of conflict with what we value and what education means to us.
A conflict between our values and the education of our children.
You see the word ‘education’ does not mean the same thing to all of us. In fact it will mean very different things to each and every one of us.
In fact, if you look up the words ‘Education’ in the dictionary, it has severals meanings.
Merriem Webster puts it simply for us.
the action or process of teaching or of being or becoming educated.
the knowledge and development resulting from the process of learning or being taught.
Formal education is simply where you receive certificates following the education you have received.
Non formal education is simply where you choose to learn outside of the traditional formal education. Eg. My Life Coach School Certification and my Personal Training Qualification etc.
Informal education is simply our own daily education through reading and our own self study.
Here is where education and our own personal values can be in conflict. Let me give you a couple of examples.
If you value spending more than 4-5 hours a day with your child then there will be a conflict with sending your child to school for 7-8 hours a day (I count the whole wake up routine, drop offs etc as part of this time).
If you value going away on holiday whenever you please, there will be a conflict.
If you value having full ownership over your child’s learning, there will be a conflict.
So why on earth am I writing all of this?
Honestly, it’s because we are at a crossroads currently with figuring out how on earth we will educate our son at home and both continue to work full time and really honouring our core values as a family. And also because, as I wrote above, I am hearing of a lot of conflicting views with regards to the education of our little ones.
Ultimately, there is no right or wrong. Whatever we decide to do, our experience will be 50/50. But it’s truly about honouring our values. What we believe in. What we truly want for our families. It’s about drowning out the noise and doing our best for our children.
I value education so much. My son will be raised to be very academic (whatever that will eventually mean for him).
I want my son to love learning. I want him to love his education and to have a deep love for his learning. These were both missing for me growing up (which is heartbreaking). It will not be missing for him.
