Education Covers More than Basics

Parents often overlook or take for granted the multitude of positive learning experiences that children have during the years they are in school.

Getting an education is much more than simply attending classes, receiving grades and being in a safe environment while the parent or parents work.

Unfortunately, many educators- the ones who make the educational process a reality- are also taken for granted. They often receive a much lower than justified place of importance, both in terms of status and compensation in our society’s view of professions.

The multi-million dollar incomes of entertainers and professional athletes say something about society’s interest in being entertained rather than being educated.

The relative value that society places on how we spend our money and time, how we perceive relationships, how we preserve the environment, how we protect the rights of others, etc., are fortunately being re-evaluated as we rapidly more toward the year 2000.

Examine how some of the positive life experiences that children receive during the educational process:

• They are given the opportunity to discover their ability to learn, solve problems, be creative and find alternatives, all part of a lifelong adventure as teachers, peers and others guide them.

Put more simply, education instills in children the desire to learn for the sheer joy of learning.

Motivation comes from internal needs rather than external. It is intrinsic rather than the reward system of gaining grades, gaining teacher approval and avoiding punitive measures.

One of the essential elements of learning, in my opinion, is to instill in the child the enjoyment of reading for pleasure.

To encourage reading, limits should be placed on viewing television productions that are not educational. Parents need to be role models in this endeavor and establish as a priority in the home.

• Related virtues, such as learning self-discipline, delaying gratification, striving for self-responsibility can be learned in the classroom if the parents will allow the teacher and the school to provide the necessary structure and boundaries.

Children must feel their parents respect the teacher and cooperate with the educational system.

• The school environment affords the children the opportunity to learn how to relate to others, how to establish relationships with others and how to choose friends.

• The educational setting provides the child with the opportunity to establish a healthy self-concept due to the positive self-regard that comes from the feelings of accomplishment and growth.

Many other benefits too numerous to mention here are certainly evident if parents will examine their own lifelong learning experiences.

Beginning with this school year, I would encourage each parent to sit down with their children and discuss these advantages. The result should be enrichment and value for the child and parent.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright © 1992