Beyond Statistics

In his book Freakonomics, Stephen D. Levitt says that, statistically, the greatest indicator of the education level that a child will achieve is the mother's education level. So typically, the higher the mother's education, the higher the child's education. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a lot of responsibility that I may not be ready for! I mean, who wants to think that they may indirectly and inadvertently limit their child?

This is, of course, only a general statement. In spite of statistics, no mother should have to worry about stumping her child's academic growth. I am convinced that a parent's attitude toward education is more influential than the highest diploma they earn, and that attitude can overshadow whatever positive or negative messages they are receiving at school. Parents who are highly educated are likely to already have a positive attitude toward education. Parents without much education are still able to motivate their children to achieve more than they did by instilling a love of learning in their young ones. The key is to inspire them to want to learn new things, whether you already know those things or not.

The first step in motivating your children to learn is motivating yourself to learn. Whether you have a graduate degree or a high school diploma, take an interest in the world around you beyond pop culture. Learn the history behind your town and your state. Turn off the television and pick up a book; there are great educational books geared toward explaining various concepts to laymen. Your kids will see this and imitate you. Spark their interest by telling them all the new things you are learning, and encourage them to tell you what they are learning. Whether you like it or not, as a parent - and especially as a mother - you have a powerful sway over your children's education. Your concern for your children can be a great motivator for you to better your own education, and that will in turn motivate your children, and the cycle of learning will continue.

A Necessary Skill, A Dying Art

I think it's safe to say that the value of good penmanship is often overlooked in our day of computers and "the faster the better" attitude. According to a November Newsweek article, there is a reviving interest in handwriting skills, but as far as I can tell this is mainly for utilitarian purpose. With practice, the function of writing by hand becomes second nature. Students benefit in other areas such as math, when they do not struggle with turning letters and numbers around. Notes during class lectures are important to absorbing and retaining information.

I would go farther to say that the skill of handwriting is not limited to practical uses. For those who hold to the ideals of absolute Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, there is an aesthetic aspect to proper penmanship which is all but lost in modern education. To this day I feel a twinge of embarrassment when I have to choose between sending a thank-you note written with informal print or elementary cursive. We have all seen beautiful handwriting, but it can be easy to forget that this was learned by the author rather than a natural-born ability.

Although most schools are not giving handwriting the attention it's due, this article gives parents some pointers in working with their children. Be sure to check out the Handwriting Without Tears website mentioned in both of the above articles, as well. Their parent section contains practical suggestions for parents which can be implemented whether or not you purchase their curriculum.

Of all the skills you are sure to have your children learn, do not neglect this basic but important one. From the simplest thank-you note to the most heartfelt letter or journal entry, communication and self-expression should not be stifled by a lack of this foundational skill.

History Alive

She was only 10 that Sunday morning. The sight of low-flying planes lured her older brother to the roof of the house in curiosity and excitement, but he nervously climbed down again when he saw the pilots motioning to him in warning. In their confusion, she and some of the locals went to a nearby church, but it was early and the doors were still locked. She remembers the sounds, the smoke in the distance, the enemy plane that crashed in the sugar cane field where her family earned its livelihood. For her, the uncertain future held gas masks, air raid drills and an influx of military personnel into her quiet neighborhood. Her life changed forever that day.

Until my grandmother told me this story, December 7, 1941 was just the answer to a test question in my American History class. All of a sudden, her words connected me in a very real way to the "day of infamy" which I had only read about in textbooks. I had always found history reasonably enjoyable, but reliving the attack on Pearl Harbor through my grandmother's eyes was a lesson unlike any I had ever received in a classroom.

Not many people have such dramatic eye-witness tales, to be sure, but you have still seen history-in-the-making on the news or in the paper. Recounting your own memories for your children can spark their interest in this important area of study and give them a historical perspective they would not otherwise have. You don't need to be a history buff, either. My grandmother did not go to college, but she has experienced a lot in her lifetime. My parents have related to me their memories of the first man on the moon, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the death of Elvis. My husband, who is 5 years my senior, recalls the destruction of the Berlin Wall, an event which I was too young to remember. Someday I will be able to tell my children about the advent of the internet, the death of Princess Diana, the events of 9/11 and how life changed in the subsequent weeks and years.

Keep telling those favorite family stories, but take time to share what you remember about important historical events. In this way, the home can be a catalyst between young children and the world around them. As their interest in and respect for history grows, they will find themselves connected to the broader realm of human history, one generation at a time.

Update

As my husband and I are in transition from Maine to Arizona, I have not had the time or opportunity to post. I am currently at a public library with time ticking away against me, but hopefully our internet will be up and running in the next few days and I can pick up where I left off on this fledgling blog. For all I know, I am the only one who ever reads my own blog, but in case anyone is interested in what I have to say, this short explanation of my absence will hopefully encourage you to return soon!

Towards an Integrated Curriculum

Understanding one subject in the context of a greater body of knowledge is essential to a good education. Growing up I went through the local public school system, and I cannot deny that I had some excellent teachers along the way. Still, one of the greates shortcomings that I have since observed was the automatic pigeonholing of the different subjects by every teacher, whether consciously or not. I drifted from one subject to the next without being aware of any common thread. I would step into science class without giving thought to the history class I just left, and it never occurred to me that there could be any link between geography and English besides the fact that I studied them in the same building. School consisted of many unrelated parts, not a continuous whole.

After years of this pigeonholed style of learning I eventually grasped the fact that subjects are related, and that it is important to recognize those relations. I can't take credit for this insight on my own, though. I distinctly remember a discussion with my grandfather after I had been taking music lessons for a few years. He explained to me how math is essential to music by detailing why "whole notes," "half notes," "quarter notes," and "eighth notes" are called what they're called. I could read music by this time and translate note values into rhythm on the piano, but I did not realize that a "half" note is called such because it is half the value of a whole note. Nor did I realize that "quarter" and "eighth" notes are always one-quarter and one-eighth the value of a whole note, respectively. Furthermore, many musical expressions are written in Italian, so reading music also includes a measure of language skills.

Although the relationship of math to musical rhythm or the Italian language to musical expression may have been more obvious to some music students, I needed guidance to see that music is not an isolated subject, separated in every way from all other areas of learning. Your children may need that guidance as well. You can help them to understand that the subjects they study in school are not meant to be solitary, unrelated pools of learning, but rather one great reservoir of interrelated knowledge from which they can benefit greatly.

Encourage your child to recognize that subjects relate to each other. Freely share your own observations and applications as my grandfather did for me. Ask questions geared at getting your kids to think along these lines on their own. And, once again, studying a subject in its historical context is an excellent way to see how it relates to other subjects. Many modern educators insist, for example, that certain debates such as evolution vs. intelligent design belong in the philosophy classroom rather than the science room. Yet, historically, science was considered as part of the realm of philosophy, not a separate, unrelated subject, making such a debate completely appropriate for a science class.

In addition to relating one subject to another, relate all subjects to every day life. Don't neglect the daily opportunities to help your child see that there are a myriad of lessons from any subject which can benefit them in non-academic settings. Something as simple as cooking a double batch of cookies can be a practical exercise of math skills. Cleaning chores can become a mini-chemistry lesson by watching the reaction of baking soda and vinegar as a basic cleaning agent, as well as learning why ammonia and bleach products should never be mixed. Economics may become an enlightening study on human nature. The discipline instilled by daily music practice can prove beneficial in helping your children achieve their goals. The possibilities are endless!

There are so many benefits to be gained from understanding how subjects relate to each other and by applying classroom lessons to every day life. Even if some teachers neglect the importance of an integrated curriculum, students can learn to integrate for themselves. Then these benefits can be theirs.

The Beauty of Classical Education

There are numerous approaches to the education of a child. Modern psychology plays a significant role in the way students are taught in most schools, but it has not always been this way. For centuries - even millennia - before the influence of John Dewey and the rise of the modern school system, school children received some form of a classical education.

Also known as a liberal education (from the Latin "liber" meaning "free"), classical education was the standard for the free citizen. The most basic component of this type of education is the trivium. The trivium is composed of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Although these terms are linked to language arts, the idea can be applied to any subject. At the grammar stage, one learns the basic facts and figures, such as the alphabet, words, and sentences. At the logic stage, the student studies how the facts learned relate to each other so that, for example, sentences and paragraphs may be analyzed for logical consistency and validity. When the student enters the rhetoric stage, he learns how to use the skills of grammar and logic to understand how reality relates to him, and he is able to express himself effectively.

There is also a major emphasis placed on studying source materials from antiquity to the present. The student receiving a liberal education will understand the rise of western civilization and the role played by Greek and Roman cultures in the formation of life as we know it today. America was not, after all, formed in a vacuum. Math would include the study of the mathematicians who developed the subject and the historical motivation behind their work. Students would become familiar with the work of Archimedes, Newton, Darwin, and others, and be able to analyze their work in light of the scientific method. The ideas of economists like Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes would be an integral part of the curriculum. Instead of reading short exerpts of great literature followed by pages of analysis from textbook writers, students would actually read classic books in toto. The work of these masters will influence the student in their own writing, as well as give solid role models of character and virtue.

Unfortunately, liberal education is all too often replaced with mediocre instruction and even outright indoctrination, from grade schools all the way through the higher institutions. Parents can begin to safeguard their children against these shortcomings, however. Be in tune with what your child is learning so that you know where you can supplement their education at home. Be sure that your young children become solid readers and that they grasp the basic arithmetic taught in the classroom. As they grow older, encourage them to read classics suitable to their reading level. You can find "Great Books" lists on the internet with suggestions for excellent reading for both you and your young scholars. Ask your son or daughter if they are familiar with opposing viewpoints to what they are being taught in school. Perhaps you can research with them to find historical context and perspective for many of the concepts they are taught in their history, science, and other classes. Such an education will train a student's mind to be capable of tackling any subject with proper perspective and objectivity.

This post has shown only a glimpse, at best, of the beauty of classical education. Hopefully it sparks an interest to learn more about this type of education. The following are only a few suggestions for further reading. The links are posted in the menu at the right for quick reference:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/classed.html
http://www.gbt.org/text/sayers.html
http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ancient/asbook.html
Classical Education: Towards the Revival of American Schooling, Gene Edward Veith, Jr. and Andrew Kern
The Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom

Taking a Break

Ahhh...weekends. Here I am at the computer on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Kids all over the country look forward to sleeping in, taking it easy, perhaps putting off homework and not touching school books for a whole day or more. What's wrong with that? Nothing, of course, because we all need time to relax, take a break, and recharge. But weekends should not be a time of endless idleness. I have often wondered where this idea has come from that relaxation always and only means hours of mindless television, video games, and junk food. Don't get me wrong, I have indulged myself from time to time as well, but I would invariably reach the end of such a day with a sluggish, lathargic sense of emptiness and wondering where the day went. The rising problem of obesity among school children has not been uncommon in the news recently, either. Perhaps it is not a leap to link this problem with lifestyle to problems in school. If children see time at home as time to laze around the house, then no wonder waistlines are expanding while academic performance declines.

In an effort to combat this trend, I encourage parents to see the weekends as a time to connect with their children and keep the spark of curiosity alive. Let the kids watch their Saturday morning cartoons, but limit their T.V. time to one hour or less. Instead of going to the movies in the afternoon, think about visiting a museum. Instead of a day playing video games, get the whole family engaged in a lively board game or card game. Do some simple crafts; Grandma and Grandpa would love to get a handmade card in the mail. Instead of sending them outside to play by themselves, why not join them? You can take a leisurely walk and draw their attention to changing leaves or squirrels that are gathering nuts for the winter. I would wager that spending time outdoors with your child would leave you feeling pretty good, too.

Relaxation is good and necessary for health, but play can still mean learning, thinking, and doing. Engage their minds, and let your children see that curiosity and wonder does not need to end with the school bell on Friday afternoon.