Why is education important? My 16 year old asks...

[lisabees]

Okay, so my 16 year old is at it again! Asking the important questions. :D

 

He is public schooled and has been miserable there for a few years. He is an extremely bright non-conformist. School is not the real world and he wants out. He is fine socially; he just wants to delve deeper into his favorite subjects. He says school takes the joy out of learning and that true learning should be interest-driven.

 

Fine. Fine. I'm on board with all of that, but he needs to learn things that he doesn't want to learn, also. He needs to learn the value of hard work. He just won't easily accept "because I said so, that's why" anymore! :lol:

 

He truly wants to know why education is important. I tell him what I think...that it will make him a wiser human being, giving him the tools to live a full life.

 

He is tired of hearing about colleges and jobs and money being the reason for education. He dreams of being like Thoreau on Walden Pond (I remember dreaming of that, too)! Ds is on a mission to find out who he is and what his (and life's) purpose is. I am proud of him for this, but I feel like I could guide him a bit more.

 

I don't know what I'm asking from all of you! Do any of you have teenagers like this? It's a constant balancing act, because he loves to be right. Is he just being a lazy kid, trying to get out of school? Or is he actually an insightful kid trying to figure life out?

 

Are there any books that you would suggest for a boy like this? Any arguments for education that I can plant in his head?

Edited April 29, 2010 by lisabees

[m0mmaBuck]

My DSS is the same way. Today he even pointed out that no one he knows does what they went to college for so it all seems pointless (i.e. I am a physical therapist but stay home to run our business and homeschool, FIL has a biology degree but works in retail, etc.). I reminded him that I did work as a PT for 15 years and a big part of why I don't do it now is because of the effect it had on my rheumatoid arthritis and that my brothers and sisters and inlaws all do do what they went to college for, but ultimately it falls on deaf ears.

 

I don't know what to tell you but I feel your pain.

[nevergiveup]

Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Lewellyn

[Barb_]

It doesn't sound like he's against education, it sounds like he's against compulsory high school. I rather agree with him :D

 

Barb

[Twigs]

Here is a quote from the tv show 7th Heaven. Maybe it will help.

 

My mother chooses to work at home. What she is most grateful for is the freedom of education. She says it is important for everyone to have an education to make sure that we all stay free. She says uneducated people believe what they are told. Educated people question what they are told. Questioning authority is good she says because questioning keeps the power of authority in check and to ask the right questions or to know when and how to ask you have to have an education. My mom is a good person. She takes good care of us and mostly just loves us even when we do something crazy.

Ruthie Camden about Annie Camden on 7th Heaven

[Caraway]

I would say that education is about freedom. We never know what is coming next, what we will want to do, what we will have to do... The things that will happen in your life (good and bad) cannot be predicted.

 

Being educated and able means that you have the best chance of surviving anything, and the best chance of getting to do what YOU want.

[Peela]

Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Lewellyn

 

:iagree:

 

My kids are not like this- but I was! I didn't go and get further education till my mid twenties. I needed years to "find myself" before I was ready to commit to something.

[lisabees]

Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Lewellyn

 

Oh boy. He has been talking about unschooling for a while now. I don't know if I'm ready for this! :lol:

[lllll]

Yeah, I have some like that. I think we've had about a million discussions about 'why we're doing all this stuff' .... meanwhile, doing all this stuff. ;) No conclusions, really. I just insisted they keep going and they all eventually seem to find their own reasons.

 

For example, one of our sons writes constantly (wants to be a writer). He eventually figured out (with a little help from his Mama :D) that a broad knowledge of a variety of subjects makes for much more interesting writing. Science fiction, for instance, is much more exciting if there's some believeable science behind it, along with the unexpected, of course. The Harry Potter author drew from ancient myths, old English words (character names), etc. Plato referred to a myth in which a ring made the wearer invisible - sound familiar?

 

Recently, this same son told me he had discovered the perfect subject for a writer to study. 'What is it!', I said. 'Philosophy!', he said. :blink: Oooookey, dokey.

 

Another son enjoys reading about scientific topics and relating them to his Bible study. He was researching giants last year. Fascinating. Lately he's been corresponding with a renowned physicist about his theories.

 

17yod just told me art was "useless" when I asked her your question. Yet, a few days ago I noticed she had a tiny art notebook with drawings of bugs in it. Very good drawings ....

 

ALL our dc are periodically amazed at how useful logic has turned out to be. And the list goes on ....

 

Anyway, from our experience, it appears that if they get the education, they eventually find a use for it. Not that your ds is likely to be happy with that answer .... :)

Edited April 30, 2010 by ksva

[TechWife]

So that he will be able to tell the truth from a lie. It's about learning to think.

[LibraryLover]

:iagree:

Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Lewellyn

[elegantlion]

I hated high school too. I knew I wasn't going to college (multiple reasons) and graduated semester my senior year because I was bored of classroom learning.

 

Looking back most of the things I wanted to do required a college education so you could hang out with like minded individuals. In my case not going to college meant hanging out with a certain group of people and in my case they were not the most motivated group. They were more interested in living in the moment, not pondering the future. So instead of thinking I could pursue my dreams on my own, I got caught up in a cycle of working to live, living to work, blah, blah, blah.

 

College would have offered me the opportunity to study abroad, maybe, find people who were passionate about things that interested me, and opened the door to many opportunities I missed.

[Rosie_0801]

Education makes us interesting. Interesting men have a much easier time keeping interesting girlfriends. ;)

 

Rosie