The guy downstairs got an adorable new puppy. Half doberman, half husky. It's howling all the time when he's not around, and I just started working from home!
Here's the thing about dogs. They are born into one social matrix that is very comfortable and familiar to them. Then they are transplanted to a completely foreign situation that they must adapt to in order to thrive as an organism.
If you've been around trained dogs, you know that the master/dog relationship enhances their lives greatly. When a dog is well-trained and it understands how to behave and receive praise from its master it is infinitely happier than a dog who is constantly given shifting expectations and intermittent punishments.
How does this relate to education and children? Well, to a certain degree, I believe raising young children is a lot like training a new puppy. The child has little if any higher reasoning and consistency is the key to all trust in the relationship.
Once we get older, however, we venture into the world. In the world, expectations and rewards are constantly shifting. It's hard to adapt ourselves to that social matrix without latching on to a sub-culture within it that is easier to navigate. Church tells us how to live. Being cool means dressing like this... Like a small harbor where our boats are safe... but that's not what boats were built for.
Listen, I don't know how to get to the point elegantly, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase.
If the world is full of shifting expectations, and it's our responsibility as parents to give our children a quality experience of life - where expectations are not shifting. Where they are safe and they know they can consistently receive love and compassion and sustenance...
How do we prepare them internally to have the fortitude to thrive out there?
Principles.
Teach Principles.
Don't teach them 2+2=4
Teach them what numbers are, how they work, what plus and equals means, drill them on it and let them go about their lives doing math. The principle of numbers, arithmetic don't change just because the world shifts its expectations. Cling fast to principles and teach your children to do the same. Chaos is all about, so be certain the light-houses of truth that you use to guide you are steady and grounded in reality. Teach your children to do the same.
Cheers,
Craig
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