"We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." Ben Sweetland
True education inspires, bad education requires.
Requirements force children through their learning experiences. Force kills the passion and stifles the spirit. It destroys the very life of learning.
Nevertheless, most parents and teachers really prefer to assign and demand instead of inspiring their child to get a great education.
They have been conditioned to believe that this is the most effective way of teaching.
The reason for this is very simple: "requiring" demands much less from the teacher or parent than "inspiring."
To inspire the child the parent has to find out what he really needs and then creatively encourage him to pursue it with excitement and interest.
It's not that hard if you go for it yourself! The best and most natural way to effectively inspire a child to learn something is by setting the example.
It's a fact. Children who read a lot come from homes with lots of bookshelves. They probably saw their parents read with joy since they were little.
Likewise children who love to write were inspired by a mentor whom they saw passionately expressing his or her thoughts with a pen in his hand.
Wherever you find a parent or teacher who is pursuing a great education with exuberant enthusiasm, you'll find a child who is inspired to learn and study hard as well.
The truth is, the best mentors are continually learning and pushing themselves. Instead of just giving assignments, they pay the price in their own study by also accepting them.
Let's face it. Whenever education is the subject, we always want to talk about how we can get the kids to learn. It is easier to talk about their education than to improve our own.
In reality, you are unlikely to pass on to your children a better education than you have earned yourself, no matter how much you push them.
That is why the most effective way to ensure a quality education for your child is to consistently improve your own.
I know this sounds overwhelming, but don't worry. You don't have to be all that far ahead of them to effectively lead them. Just come alongside them and learn together.
Your compromise with your own education will propel them to a new level of learning. Their advantages of youth and available time, coupled with your maturity and life experience, will allow them to achieve amazing results.
You can be the lever that moves their world.
And, who knows? Once you're at it you just might rediscover that area of interest you were always passionate about and never took time to pursue any further...
Together, you can experience that learning is fun and powerfully life-changing!
Author Info:
I'd like to invite you to go for it! Visit http://www.Self-DirectedLearningForSuccess.com for tips and tools for creating and growing in your own learning process and that of your child. Discover how to teach yourself and your child to love learning in my FREE e-book: "The Power of Self-Directed Learning." Additionally you will get my FREE e-course: "Seven Steps to Consistently Change Your Life."
From Bettina Langerfeldt, who teaches people how to pursue their God-given gifts and talents by designing their own education with self-directed learning.
© 2008 Freedompioneer
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