In our country, education is constantly discussed. It becomes matters of law, local and world-wide policy, debates over what is best, and then of course tests, tests, and more tests.
As parents, it is our job to make certain that our children get the best education we can give them, no matter where we are. Sometimes, that’s the public school up the street, where we go over the homework packets ourselves and engage our child as much as we can. Sometimes, it’s in another district, where we’ve heard the teachers are better. Some parents use charter schools, and others find themselves sacrificing in order to pay for private education—at home, or far away.
Because we know, as parents, that education will not only shape the future of our child, but the future of our world. That our ability to educate the citizens now will lead into more inventions, peace talks, and even further advances in education later.
But of course, most students are not even aware of what parents do to help their schooling, or even the importance of an education in general—no matter how many times we and other teachers have told them. And even teachers, themselves, recognize that.
Chase Mielke, teacher, and blogger of Affectiveliving, admits to lying awake at night, worried over the students that he teaches every day, that he genuinely cares about. And knows, like the rest of us, that education is not just what is found in textbooks or on a chalkboard:
“. . . you should understand the truth about school. You see, the main event of school is not academic learning. It never has been. It never will be. And, if you find someone who is passionate in claiming that it is about academics, that person is lying to himself or herself and may genuinely believe that lie. Yes, algebra, essay writing, Spanish, the judicial process—all are important and worth knowing. But they are not the MAIN event.
“The main event is learning how to deal with the harshness of life when it gets difficult — how to overcome problems as simple as a forgotten locker combination, to obnoxious peers, to gossip, to people doubting you, to asking for help in the face of self-doubt, to pushing yourself to concentrate when a million other thoughts and temptations are fingertips away.”
Preparing for the future is imperative–for us, our children, and their children. They must recognize their potential, and know that they are their own leaders into a grand future.
