Meaning of Education

In this weeks memo to parents and families (September 22-26), I raised the question, "what does education mean to you?" How we value education, what it means to us and our beliefs on it are reflected in the things we do...in even the most subtle ways. For example, if I get my daughter to school late every day, I might tell myself or anyone who asks that the traffic is bad or I can't hear the alarm or I don't have a car. But if I look below the surface, and am honest with myself, I come to realize that perhaps school really isn't as important to me as I might tell others.

Often our beliefs run much deeper than this example. What I mean is that over time our values and beliefs become one with our habits (and vice versa). So early on, for example, we develop a habit of always being late. We may not think that this has anything to do with how we value education, but it does on a subtle level. Consider this, if you have been looking for a job and finally get an interview, you will be at the interview on time, right? Well, we have to have that same level of interest and commitment to our children's education. If we don't then they will develop these same habits (of being late) as they grow up.

The examples above are directed toward getting to school on time. Yet there are other ways that values are revealed - creating time for children to do homework, taking care of their clothes and things (including school uniform, textbooks, etc.), treating teachers and other children, etc.

The botom line is this...education is critical in this period in history. In addition, it is fundamentally different than 15 + years ago. So not only do we, as parents and educators, have to be more vigilent in getting children to school on time and ready to learn, but also we have to be consistent in carving the time out for children to get their work done.