Are we there yet?
-Acquiring Tools for Life
Every time you receive a newsletter, you sit down and read it. You’ve followed Mike Pearl’s advice and trained your children to obey and work hard. They’re not perfect “yet,” but your family is happy, and you are satisfied...well, almost.
Your homeschooling method works great for your children, and they test higher than most children their ages. Your home is happy and peaceful. Then, why is it that sometimes you see a glint of discontentment in the eyes of your obedient 14-year-old? Why does your 12-year-old son seem bored when he has plenty to do? Why does your oldest sometimes seem emotionally depressed and wistful? Why does your 17-year-old daughter feel as though she needs to be doing something?
Perhaps they are wondering, “Are we there yet?” Is the goal merely to become perfect? Will we ever get there? Life! When does LIFE start? The anguish of a teenager has often born that feeling of futility: “What am I good for, anyway?”
Let’s check it out.
This morning my husband said to me, “Bek, I want you to write an article about tools. People need to know that life isn’t about tests; it’s about tools.” Gabe doesn’t write much (he’s an independent web designer for businesses), but my articles are full of his wisdom. He was sure right about tools!
Who Needs Tools?
“Let early education be a sort of amusement. You will then better be able to find out the natural bent of the child.” – Plato (427-347 BC)
The first step toward choosing the correct tools for education is to ask yourself: “Who is my child?” Or, if you are the student: “Who am I?” You may not really know yet. Not knowing (up until now) is all right. But, begin to look around you. Look beyond entertainment, advertisements, religion, and political systems that say who you are and what you should do, and think about what your interests and skills really are.
I can already look at my 2-year-old son and see that he will be a song-writer and story teller. I can tell by his very nature that he will not be a surgeon, or a mechanic; those things would bore him to tears. He loves to communicate and imagine. “I’m not a boy, Mom, IHHHMMM N ALLVOGATOR!!! RRROAARR!!!”
Some of you do have surgeons in the making, and maybe a physicist and lawyer or two. I’ve met your kids, and I hope I am still coherent when they are breaking new ground, inventing miraculous things, and writing dreamy stories about other lands. The task before you now is to equip your child (or yourself) with the tools that are natural in their hands—the tools they will need and value as they grow older. There are specific tools for specific students. You should not press piano lessons on your mechanically gifted son if he wants to be in the auto shop.
This is why I say, know your child.
