What is your aim?
Jul 28th, 2006 by lvbirders
Everywhere I go in the homeschooling blogosphere lately people are pondering and discussing ideas. Ideas of plans for their school year. I too have been contemplating what our own studies will look like this year. What path will we choose? Will it look similar to last year or do we want to take a path “less traveled by”?
I am currently reading When Children Love to Learn - A Practical Application of Charlotte mason’s Philosophy for Today. general editor -Elaine Cooper. This is a book of essays discussing ways in which to apply Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophies in today’s world, just as the title states. I have been musing on the following statement from the first essay in the book, written by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, the author of For the Children’s Sake.
“Education must have an aim, a focus, a raison d’etre. Many now seem to have settled on education for utilitarian reasons only - that is, when you get to the bottom line, how much money will the student be able to earn later, what status will he or she be able to achieve? Below that, for society’s underclass, we simply would like to condition them to law-abiding lives.”
It is important to know why you are doing something. So I ponder. What is my aim in choosing this life of “homeschooling”? I want, above all, for my children to be people of values and compassion. I want them to be life-long learners never losing the wonder of learning. I want them to be self-disciplined. I want their lives to be enriched emotionally, spiritually, physically and intellectually.
As I think on these “ideals” for my children, I begin to form “ideas” on finding a path, the path, in which to instill in them all these wonders that I wish for them.
So, as I share my aims for my own children, I can’t help but think… What are your aims for your family?
