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on Education


as the school year comes to a close, i think about what i would like to teach my girls...




On Education:


girls, i hope that the wide-eyed wonder with which you seem to approach every book these days, stays with you as you navigate through the educational institutions you attend on your journey. i pray that your curiosity grows with each course and each subject matter, that you investigate and explore and research and discover. i hope that you construct knowledge in your own unique ways and that you realize that knowledge is not absolute.

i hope you always love literature and that you embrace the power of the written word. i hope that you find yourself through your own writings and awaken passions to travel and to study culture and to explore the world through great stories and poetry and treasured rhetoric. i hope that you acknowledge the beauty and complexity of science and math and history and other fields of study also.

please respect your teachers. know that they have chosen careers that are often not appreciated in our culture, that are often underpaid, that are often overlooked in terms of recognition for its importance and value. remember that most of them have become teachers because they are passionate about their courses and their curriculum, because they believe that students have potential, and because they know that your generation can change the world. but also know that teachers are not always right, and that they come with different teaching philosophies and backgrounds, that they have various personalities, and that their teaching strategies may not always appeal to your strengths. please be open to different methods and know that good teachers will criticize you and push you to be better than you are.

please know that teachers have authority in the classroom, but they are not perfect. they can make mistakes and they can be wrong. remember that no one is allowed to take away your dignity or your rights, and no one is allowed to make you feel worthless or degraded. no one is allowed to use your respect for them or their position of power to make you do things you are not comfortable with or morally disagree with. the world is always changing, and i have to admit that, as a teacher and as a parent.

please know that it is okay to challenge your teachers. there will be times when you will not agree with what they are telling you is the truth, there will be times when you are sure that there has to be a different perspective. there will be times when you are confident in what you yourself have experienced, or read, or learned.... and that matters. be respectful with your questions. know that your teachers are there to help guide you to knowledge, but they cannot simply tell you what to write or read or believe or practice. you must make those decisions on your own and know that is beneficial to listen to all sides and to read different genres and to approach learning with different goals in mind. sometimes, in the classroom, you will be the only one who feels a certain way, be bold enough to voice your opinion, but gracious enough to be attentive to others' opinions also. sometimes you may find that what your teacher was presenting was indeed the truth, and other times you may find that you were right all along. either way, do not demean or be condescending or arrogant in your argument.

please take education seriously, knowing that, in our family, and in generations past, education helped rescue us from a stagnant life and from unfair stereotypes and from poverty. acknowledge that education gave us a reason to move and be dynamic, and it opened our eyes to the limitless possibilities that can be provided by a strong work ethic rooted in the ability and expertise that was gained through formal learning.

i pray you continue to cultivate your love of learning by approaching the world with intrigue and appreciation. as your mind questions why certain parts of our universe and our existence work the way do or grow the way they do or look the way they do or change the way they do, search for answers. life can oftentimes contain components of an endless search, and your observations and examinations of life will help you appreciate God's great presence in mankind, and the incredible power we hold as human beings on this earth.


my prayer for you is that you hold tight to the importance of a good education, and that you work hard to prove that you acknowledge the elaborate and endless value of gaining knowledge. 

i know you will continue to make me proud. 

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