You, Not Them??? (Amy)

"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..." (A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille page 53). That hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I read it. And then it scared me. Many times I feel like I'm faking it. I've read a lot of books and got good grades in school, but I've always felt like my education has been lacking. My desire to homeschool came from wanting my children to get more than I did. Now I read this book that tells me "The most effective way to ensure the quality of their education is to consistently improve your own." (A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille page 53).

So here I am. Focusing on "You, Not Them". As a mother this is not natural. We don't have permission to focus on ourselves. That's lunacy. But as I look at my family I think I see a glimpse of how this works.

My husband is a pilot. He LOVES aviation. That's all he ever wanted to do. Now he's a pilot in the Air Force. Guess what my children love? Aviation, planes, flying, you name it. He's passionate about it and so are they. And that is natural. There is no feigned interest so that maybe they'll find an interest in it. This passion is real. That is what happens when your children see you so involved in something.

So wouldn't it stand to reason that if I'm passionate about learning, say about government, that my children would be too? Hey, you're right! I do love learning about government and so does my 12 year old son! He even aced his Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge for Boy Scouts!

Interesting... Maybe there is something to this "You, Not Them" thing.