"More important than how well they solve a problem is how well they formulate it."
Another beautiful essay, and a great compendium for parents regardless of how they choose to execute the education of our children, Latham. Because at its heart, this is an essay about how we parent and raise future-ready leaders. Global citizens who engage with others and learning as they navigate all the great learning of the past so that they can be positioned to take on the un-knowable challenges of the future with a certain degree of confidence that they will be able to come through the other end.
You are a philosopher. You ask the deepest questions. And you go about exploring and answering them.
One thing that serious educators think about is developmental sequencing. What you describe as your goal, and what I think is a worthy goal for education, is at the far end of development. There's a lot of drudgery and frustration bound up with excellence. And not all of the stages are fun. It takes an advanced learner to realize that malaise is actually an opportunity to lean in, redirect, reframe ownership.
Here are four more readings to add to your list. I taught all of them as part of my first-year seminar, which was explicitly devoted to the question you pose here. Many first-year students aren't ready for that question. It occurs to me now that our introduction to the liberal arts would have been far more meaningful for parents, not only homeschooling parents like you, but everyone who is concerned about the deeper "why" of their children's education.
Josh, I wanted to quickly say thank you for the links. I'm working my way through them and plan to come back with thoughts. Both about the readings and about the sequencing. It's a question I find myself wrestling with a lot, especially in the context of what my boy finds fun, what he struggles with, and what order certain books present knowledge in. It seems to be a never ending exercise. More to come soon.
Love this! Knowing one thing deeply teaches you how to know everything else deeply. And your point on planting "acorns" or seeds for new ideas while cultivating taste for good work.
Love the Derek Sivers lesson! "Seeking out others to do great things" also reminds of me when I realized years ago that the best-in-the-world tournament poker players who hung around together had actually met each other before they became great. They'd all learned and risen up the ranks together. Similarly, Einstein spent thousands of hours writing letters back and forth to other great physicists and philosophers.
It reminds me of the scenus idea that Henrik Karlson talked about in Childhoods of Exceptional People. I think a lot about how to prepare my children to participate in such groups. I don't think school teaches kids how to do that
I’m moved by how much you’re learning through this process of opening up learning for your son. Your curiosity has led you both down a wonderful path. Thanks for sharing this journey with us Latham.
This is a beautiful essay. I can't say I personally agree with excellence being the importance of education, but that is part of the beauty of homeschooling - we don't have to have the same values. I do LOVE that you're asking these questions and exploring the answers that are right for you and your family. Way to rock a bit of unschooling introspection.
Thank you Britni. I'm grateful that you enjoyed it and honored that we can disagree on one value and still appreciate that we're both working towards something beautiful. Asking these questions has helped me realize where I'm not quite hitting the mark and what changes I want to make sooner and in the slightly further off.
Wonderful essay. I am a pilot, mom to a teenage son who loves building things, and former Montessori school leader.
Have you read any of Dr. Montessori’s work? If not, please do! Her method is the only somewhat scaled approach to education that largely supports the goals you outline in this essay.
My dyslexic son learned to write and read by focusing on his six-year-old passion of sharks in his Montessori elementary classroom. He read, researched, told stories, and wrote multi-issue newsletters on sharks. If he’d been in a public school he would have been on an IEP and labeled as ADHD. In Montessori he flourished and now loves to learn—but hates to be taught :)
"Excellence leaves clues"
"More important than how well they solve a problem is how well they formulate it."
Another beautiful essay, and a great compendium for parents regardless of how they choose to execute the education of our children, Latham. Because at its heart, this is an essay about how we parent and raise future-ready leaders. Global citizens who engage with others and learning as they navigate all the great learning of the past so that they can be positioned to take on the un-knowable challenges of the future with a certain degree of confidence that they will be able to come through the other end.
You are a philosopher. You ask the deepest questions. And you go about exploring and answering them.
Thank you Karena. Your comment makes me blush a little bit. I'm just a dad trying to do the best I can.
"just a dad" ... makes your son a very lucky boy.
One thing that serious educators think about is developmental sequencing. What you describe as your goal, and what I think is a worthy goal for education, is at the far end of development. There's a lot of drudgery and frustration bound up with excellence. And not all of the stages are fun. It takes an advanced learner to realize that malaise is actually an opportunity to lean in, redirect, reframe ownership.
Here are four more readings to add to your list. I taught all of them as part of my first-year seminar, which was explicitly devoted to the question you pose here. Many first-year students aren't ready for that question. It occurs to me now that our introduction to the liberal arts would have been far more meaningful for parents, not only homeschooling parents like you, but everyone who is concerned about the deeper "why" of their children's education.
https://www.williamcronon.net/writing/only_connect.html
https://www.yorku.ca/cvandaal/files/ClaimingAnEducation.pdf
https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45473/a-noiseless-patient-spider
Josh, I wanted to quickly say thank you for the links. I'm working my way through them and plan to come back with thoughts. Both about the readings and about the sequencing. It's a question I find myself wrestling with a lot, especially in the context of what my boy finds fun, what he struggles with, and what order certain books present knowledge in. It seems to be a never ending exercise. More to come soon.
“don’t teach them everything; show them the beauty in anything.”
Latham, there is so much depth in this essay many shiny dimes from my perspective. Thank you for this one in particular. 🙏
Thank you James. I learned so much writing this. And I'm about to change the way we do things at home as a result.
Love this! Knowing one thing deeply teaches you how to know everything else deeply. And your point on planting "acorns" or seeds for new ideas while cultivating taste for good work.
Thank you! I found the deep knowledge idea particularly inspiring when it appeared on the page. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Love the Derek Sivers lesson! "Seeking out others to do great things" also reminds of me when I realized years ago that the best-in-the-world tournament poker players who hung around together had actually met each other before they became great. They'd all learned and risen up the ranks together. Similarly, Einstein spent thousands of hours writing letters back and forth to other great physicists and philosophers.
It reminds me of the scenus idea that Henrik Karlson talked about in Childhoods of Exceptional People. I think a lot about how to prepare my children to participate in such groups. I don't think school teaches kids how to do that
What an education requires:
1. Protects, nourishes, and encourages natural curiosity.
2. Teaches how to search for answers raised by curiosity.
3. Teaches determination, discipline, rigor, and techniques for pursuing answers.
4. Provides essential skills (reading, writing, history, mathematics) to use the tools and procedures for pursuing answers.
5. Provides a broad overview of human knowledge, experience, and understanding so each child can build upon the shoulders of giants.
6. Makes the connection between the brain and the hand. Theory must connect to the real world. experience.
I agree on all of these. The question, as always, is how to accomplish said education.
I’m moved by how much you’re learning through this process of opening up learning for your son. Your curiosity has led you both down a wonderful path. Thanks for sharing this journey with us Latham.
Lifelong learners are we 💪🏻
Thank you my friend.
This is a beautiful essay. I can't say I personally agree with excellence being the importance of education, but that is part of the beauty of homeschooling - we don't have to have the same values. I do LOVE that you're asking these questions and exploring the answers that are right for you and your family. Way to rock a bit of unschooling introspection.
Thank you Britni. I'm grateful that you enjoyed it and honored that we can disagree on one value and still appreciate that we're both working towards something beautiful. Asking these questions has helped me realize where I'm not quite hitting the mark and what changes I want to make sooner and in the slightly further off.
Wonderful essay. I am a pilot, mom to a teenage son who loves building things, and former Montessori school leader.
Have you read any of Dr. Montessori’s work? If not, please do! Her method is the only somewhat scaled approach to education that largely supports the goals you outline in this essay.
My dyslexic son learned to write and read by focusing on his six-year-old passion of sharks in his Montessori elementary classroom. He read, researched, told stories, and wrote multi-issue newsletters on sharks. If he’d been in a public school he would have been on an IEP and labeled as ADHD. In Montessori he flourished and now loves to learn—but hates to be taught :)
A good place to start on reading Montessori:
https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Montessoris-Handbook-Maria-Montessori-ebook/dp/B00N5LPL9G/