Children should have a fair amount of say in their education but not at the expense of necessary knowledge. One of the reasons that childhood education is so important is that it lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning. A well taught student should have the basic skills and confidence to pursue any area after high school graduation. A solid ground work opens up a myriad of options for our young people.
When I was growing up I wanted to be an explorer, then a writer, then a nurse, then a teacher. Now as a Licensed Massage Therapist with a 4 year goal of becoming an Occupational Therapist I can bear witness to the fact that career paths can change. Whether by necessity or desire.
It is our responsibility to give young people the tools to succeed in many different occupations especially given our current situation in this world. All kinds of fields are starting to emerge relating to climate change, space exploration and asteroid mining as well as our increasing demands for high quality entertainment, service and, well everything.
Some of the topics that I believe all children should have a basic understanding and ability to implement include: math, logic and reasoning, mental health, first aid, basic computer skills and internet safety, being able to find/grow/prepare food and child development.
I believe that passions in children should be encouraged and allowed to flourish but not at the expense of necessary knowledge. Life is full of give and take. One day you will have a job or be in a situation where you must learn something that you do not want to. It is very important to be able to take in and execute information despite lack of interest!
Creating a plan with your child that contains both things that they are interested in as well as areas that you deem necessary is an excellent life lesson. Work on those negotiation skills, they will need them!
Thank you for the inspiration @steemiteducation!
My wife is pregnant and I have just thought these things
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Research shows that when children are given some decision making power over what they are learning and how they are learning, they tend to be more invested in the learning process. As opposed to having lessons and methodology forced on them.
I really am interested in homeschooling my children so I can ensure they are given this opportunity. Not feasible at the moment though.
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I am interested in homeschooling as well. The common core program is pretty pervasive in my home state. It does not allow teachers much wiggle room to provide lessons that students are more interested in. That combined with cuts in the arts programs and general underpayment of teachers paints a pretty bleak picture for those of us who see the value in letting children have some autonomy when it comes to learning.
My main challenge with homeschooling is child care while I work. School is convenient to parents who work typical hours. For public schools, at least, it is free child care! Wouldn't it be nice to get subsidies from the government for homeschooling?
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I know that there is a School in Ithaca that does a lottery entry and is run like this. All the benefits of a private school without the insane $$$$ costs. Homeschooling is of course the best choice but then you have to devote that time that other parents don't have to. Sadly, this prevents you from pursuing anything else! Public education is, in my opinion, a terrible option. Nowadays, these schools are covered in CCTV cameras and the curriculum is a sham. Best case scenario is to have a work from home job and home school in tandem.
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You are going to be a good mother. I also sense a generous spirit, so I think you are going to be an influence on the friends of your child-children. I wish we had more people like you.
As for homeschooling, I have been suggesting to other parents on another site, that they gather another ten to fifteen children and the parents employ one person for looking after the kids in her home. Ideally, this should be a parent of one of the kids, who does not have a job, or wants to stay home to look after her kid(s).
I presume homeschooling is similar in your country to mine - here kids are signed up to an internet school, so they are given the basic lessons and the 'carer' should be intelligent enough to help the kids when they have a problem and did not understand the lesson. Each parent then can add to what they are taught, on the subject(s) they want.
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