(I had a couple of things written out. But Zorak just made me laugh, and I forgot most of it. You get what's left. Sorry.)
...What I find even more fascinating is how our own definitions and goals change as the children grow and change. Education, or rather, the pursuit of education, is a dynamic enterprise that extends beyond the entries on a sheet of paper. Do we want them to know basic arithmetic? Of course. Do we want them to understand basic physical properties and laws of nature? Naturally. Do we want them to take an active part in their literary heritage (...and I think I just lost Zorak...)? OK, to at least catch references and nods to great stories in their reading? Yeah, I do.
Is that the sum of our goals for the children?
Not by a long shot.
And tonight, while Zorak tried valiantly to give me the indoc primer on RF attenuation (yeah, I know...) I managed to put my finger on a goal that's been there from the very start, although not always articulated this way. (I also put my finger on an Arby's coupon. I love Arby's.)
In some ways, I hope the boys receive a Jack-of-all-Trades education. I hope they know enough about a variety of topics to feel comfortable in any venue, to understand how much there is still to learn, and to have the ability and interest to articulate a desire to listen and learn.
...and, yeah, that's good for tonight. Listen. Learn. Want to. (Sometimes we have to work on that last one. heh.)
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
2 comments:
Hear! Hear!
To be comfortable in a variety of venues. That is an excellent goal.
The more I meet the country folk, the more I realize that they are way more educated than we are. They may talk funny... ;-) but they can do a huge variety of different things. They know all about nature and animals and can do wood carving and know about Indian artifacts and the list goes on. And that's what I want for my kids. I want them to know a little bit of everything. It would sure make deciding what to be when they grow up a lot easier.
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