Principles for Parents of Educated Children (part 1)
By Brett King, RMCA Headmaster
There are some books on my shelf that are worn more than others.
These works serve as a compass, a source of encouragement as I return
to them again and again. One such book, The Educated Child: A Parent’s
Guide from Preschool through Eighth Grade, is well used. This comprehensive
and practical treatise on education, edited by William Bennett, has
helped me as parent. It’s helped me as educator. In fact, its
common-sense ideas have influenced not only what takes place in my
home, but also in the classrooms at RMCA.
One of the most prominent themes in the book is
the value of parental involvement. Research is clear. When parents
are appropriately engaged
in their child’s education, great things can happen. And involvement
begins with a simple idea: education must be valued in the home. There
must be a desire to work toward the goal of raising “educated” children.
Before the book defines the characteristics of an educated child,
it lays an important foundation of ten principles for parents of educated
children. I have found these guideposts informative and helpful, even
hopeful. While parenting can be hard at times, applying a few simple
principles consistently reaps lasting dividends in the lives our children.
The ten principles we will explore in this and subsequent Perspectives
articles are not meant to be exhaustive, rather informative. And
while they are taken from the book, the commentary is from my heart.
My prayer is that we will be reminded to parent with wisdom and purpose.
Let’s begin with the first three.
Principle 1: “Parents are the first and most important teachers.”
What or who has the greatest influence on your children: the church… peers… media…teachers?
Each of these individually—and even more so collectively—certainly
plays a crucial role. But these pale in comparison to the influence
of parents. Study after study confirms that a parent’s instruction
has the greatest long-term impact on their children.
Principle 2: “Your teaching must not stop when schooling starts.”
It is natural and appropriate to rely on Christian schools and others
in the body of Christ to teach your children. In God’s economy,
no one was ever intended to do it all. However, our responsibility
to guide the complete education of our children cannot be abdicated
completely to others. The time spent in school represents only a fraction
of a student’s experiences. Schools simply cannot and should
not be the beginning, middle, or end of the educational process. Life’s
greatest lessons are often learned outside of the classroom.
Principle 3: “The early years build the foundation
for all later learning.”
It’s been said that children learn to read so they can read to
learn. The same principle can be broadened to include the purpose of
early learning. When children are young, they do not need to learn
everything. Rather, they need to be given the “tools of learning.” That
is why RMCA believes strongly in the classical approach. This proven
and historic approach equips students to learn for a lifetime, not
just for the time they are in school.
