My goal is to figure out the best way to educate my son, Walker, who for most of his life now has been stuck at home with me and his mother because of the pandemic.
I always felt grateful to have been raised to actively question and evaluate teachings. If that's how it is for Walker, it won't make him popular or a teacher's pet, but he will be a critical thinker who can challenge his lessons. The knowledge that adults aren't implicitly correct not only immunizes a child against some of the political agendas in his education, but it also makes for a safer, savvier kid who is less likely to comply with an adult who may not have his best interests at heart, or worse, is dangerous to the child's safety.
Thanks, Kit. Sounds like you had a proper upbringing!
I take your point about teaching kids to be "safer and savvier" as they mix with adults. So far I've just been focused on Walker's academics, but there are of course many other dimensions of child-rearing to think hard about. At the end of Post #6 here, I start talking about values -- and I suspect that this is a topic essential to all areas of his education and development. I suspect that the topic of "values" is going to take on some prominence in coming posts.
Becky is currently watching a documentary on Woody Allen and the allegations of child abuse leveled against him. (She's braver than I am.) That sad tale underscores the extreme importance of your point. . . that raising kids to read with a "glance" rather than a "gaze" (see previous post) likely extends beyond the page and into the world at large.
I always felt grateful to have been raised to actively question and evaluate teachings. If that's how it is for Walker, it won't make him popular or a teacher's pet, but he will be a critical thinker who can challenge his lessons. The knowledge that adults aren't implicitly correct not only immunizes a child against some of the political agendas in his education, but it also makes for a safer, savvier kid who is less likely to comply with an adult who may not have his best interests at heart, or worse, is dangerous to the child's safety.
Thanks, Kit. Sounds like you had a proper upbringing!
I take your point about teaching kids to be "safer and savvier" as they mix with adults. So far I've just been focused on Walker's academics, but there are of course many other dimensions of child-rearing to think hard about. At the end of Post #6 here, I start talking about values -- and I suspect that this is a topic essential to all areas of his education and development. I suspect that the topic of "values" is going to take on some prominence in coming posts.
Becky is currently watching a documentary on Woody Allen and the allegations of child abuse leveled against him. (She's braver than I am.) That sad tale underscores the extreme importance of your point. . . that raising kids to read with a "glance" rather than a "gaze" (see previous post) likely extends beyond the page and into the world at large.