What a Good Education is NOT

Stating what does NOT comprise a good education will be a good and practical exercise in contrasting what our goals are.

A good education is not driven by getting a good job. (A good job may be the by-product of a good education. The key here is focus... what is it that impels me - or my student.) Here is how that works.

I want children to pursue their education and work hard at understanding each subject from God’s perspective. I want them to know as much as they can about as much as they can. I want them to delight in the world that God has made and be awed by His work in all they see - everything from architecture (man’s dominion over the world), to zoology (a branch of biology concerned with the animal kingdom). Therefore, I will not stress over good or bad grades, but rather I will be concerned with them faithfully doing their work to the best of their ability (neat handwriting included!) and talking to them about what they’ve learned.

As they get older, I will continue that plan so that if there are difficulties in understanding, I will call the teacher to understand the problem and come up with solutions until we see success. Grades will only reflect whether they are “getting it” - not whether they are going to get a good job. (Smart children who “get it” and are lousy workers are not guaranteed a good job!)

Report cards are only that - reports to the parents about whether learning is taking place. They are not an indicator of intelligence, nor of diligence. They should not be points of stress for you or for your children.

I know that grades are important for getting into college, and I will address that in another topic. However, at this point, if you are not already, I would like to persuade you to shift your emphasis to doing well and learning everything.