Whew! Thank goodness that is over. I will never have to think again as long as I live.
Is it me, or do those words make most of us cringe when we think of a high school graduate saying them? Why is that?
From my perspective, I would want that young man or lady to know that life is just beginning and that there will always be new information to be learned. If nothing else, your silly smart phone will upgrade and you will have to learn how to use the new features, every year or so! There are hobbies to learn, books to read, documentaries to peruse, parenting information to be needed, blogs to read, world events to stay on top of. I can’t imagine thinking that it would be so cool to NOT cool.
I would want to scream at them at the top of my lungs, “ONCE YOU SIT DOWN IN THAT RECLINER AND GIVE UP YOU ARE GOING TO SPIRAL TOWARD DEATH. MAYBE NOT A PHYSICAL DEATH JUST YET, BUT DEATH NONETHELESS. YOU WILL DULL YOUR SPIRIT, DAMAGE YOUR INTELLECT, BE MORE PRONE TO DEMENTIA AND BE A BORING PERSON TO BE AROUND.” Ahem. There. I feel a little bit better now.
Take a moment and think about all of the people you have known in your life. Who seems the most vibrant to you? I’d be willing to bet that your thoughts gravitate toward those who are lively, interesting, have hobbies, know trivia, are “sharp as a tack” so to speak. Now, not everyone is blessed with high intellect, but those people who are interested in things and get involved in that interest are just more interesting people. They have more to talk about, to share, and to learn–maybe from you! Those sad individuals who sank into a sofa or recliner, staring aimlessly into a screen and scrolling channels have given up on exploring new horizons and they (I am only speaking from my personal observations) tend to be depressed and unhappy. They don’t pursue relationships and are lonely because others don’t seem to want to spend time with them. They seem to fall into ill health and it perpetuates that cycle of misery.
But, put a good book in the hand of someone and they can experience a time of escape. They can get “out of themselves” and think about something else for awhile. It’s good medicine for the soul to have an interest.
Plus, if you love learning, you will NEVER be bored. You will always have new avenues to explore, new people to meet, possibly new business ideas or promotions to pursue. So, why do we accept an educational system that isn’t geared toward an absolute love of learning and exploring new ideas? Why do we settle for disgruntled students, overworked and underpaid teachers, and standardized testing instead of genuine exploration? One of the major strengths of homeschooling families is that they love to learn together. They have learned the power of helping a student “find out” and learning alongside them. They have learned that they are positively re-energized by a good field trip and that if the kids can actually learn without feeling tied to a book and paper, they may actually be retaining more information overall. When the parents think learning something new is cool, it is not much of a stretch for that attitude to be contagious. And that kind of contagion can really shape this world we live in for the better.
Are your kids becoming life long learners?
For more of this series:
Why Homeschool? Appropriate Socialization
Why Homeschool? Academic Excellence
Why Homeschool? Learning Styles & Multiple Intelligences
Why Homeschool? Child Led Learning
Till next time,
Another Hatchett Job.... 
This looks like a good series! I’m going to have to check out your other posts 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
I found your post through the Modest Mom link-up.
Thanks for stopping by, Missy! I hope you have a chance to check out the rest of the series and find it useful!