Education's Journey

If your kids are, or were, anything like mine, they are full of why's. Why is the sky green, grey, or blue? Why do cows live in fields? Why can I see my breath when it's cold? Sometimes all of these why's can become a nuisance....right? WRONG! Asking why is one of a child's first tools of learning. If we push these why's aside and treat them as a bother, we are teaching our children the exact opposite of life-learning.

Instead of teaching our children that learning happens at all times and places, and sometimes in the most peculiar ways; we are teaching our children that there is a time and place for learning, a time and place for questions and answers, a time and place for exploration and discovery. If we want to truly help our children develop a love of life and learning, and a character of openness and understanding, we must encourage these why's and provide an environment of inquisitiveness.

This transfers into adult lives as well. If you'd like to learn something new, or expand your knowledge in a specific area, there is a wealth of how to articles and books out there to help you along the way. Our push button, instant gratification society has made sure that all of this information is readily available to all who seek it at any given time. Authors ask how to get published, how to improve SEO, etc...Homeowners ask how to fix a leaky faucet, unclog a drain, or re-roof their homes. Laborers look for how to find a better position, how to improve their craft, or how to connect with others in their fields. These articles all have two things in common.

1. They explain how to do something. This is a very valuable tool when you are the one in search of the information.
2. They fail to meet the seekers' real needs. Type in how to fix a leaky faucet and count how many different resources you'll find. All with a different perspective or advice, all written by people from every different culture/society you can imagine. If there are 15,000 articles out there with the same focus...what is missing? Why do people keep writing the same thing?

There you have it...they are missing the why's. Why do you want to fix a leaky faucet? Wouldn't it be easier to hire a plumber? Would it be cheaper to replace the pipes? What if you follow the how to article step by step and the faucet continues to leak? If the why is addressed before the how, you will have a more direct route to the information you seek.

Likewise, if you address the why's your children before getting to the how tos, you will be harvesting a great reward. Your children's questions will become more focused and centralized, making your job of answering or pointing the direction that much simpler.

As always, remember to have fun with your kids, and give them all the attention they deserve!