I am currently reviewing a book about Christian Unschooling. I came across a question from the book that really made me sit back and think. I would love to know your thoughts.
"Why are certain subjects (math for instance) seen as more valuable pursuits than other disciplines, even if that child is not destined for a life using anything more than basic arithmetic?"
Julie Polanco
I have often pondered this question on my own. What if the "other disciplines" are Illustrating, Creative Writing, Art, Drama, or Stage Makeup. If your child is good at these things why should they not be allowed to devote all their time to those disciplines.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please comment and tell me what you think.
4 comments:
They are viewed as "more valuable" and "more important" because fewer people earn a living in the other areas. The discipline in which the future adult loves or will pursue for their lifetime should be the more valuable to them. The benefit of homeschooling is that each person can pursue the disciplines of greater interest while gaining an introduction to the other disciplines. In the push of today's society for the "best" college, "best" job, etc, subjects where people make the most money are often viewed as valuable.
Teaching History and Latin has given me a lot of exposure to this issue. If we are all mathematicians, what good is that? Unfortunately, the Humanities are not considered as important as they once were in academics of every level. If the Lord meant for us all to be the same, He would have made us all the same (or at least made a need for an unending supply of rocket scientists and accountants).
I think science and mathematics are currently seen as keys to the future economically and sadly this has led to a devaluing of other areas such as the arts and the humanities. Maths can provide a good mental workout - but so can Latin - and cutting out math too early can limit options for further study later. A certain level of maths is required for good financial literacy - lots of people don't fully understand interest rates which has implications for mortgages, credit card debt etc. Coming from a different education system it seems ot me that the standard requirements to graduate US highschool are science/math heavy.
If I am honest, I think the reason math and science is pushed so heavily right now is that the government decided to push it and created the catch phrase STEM. Rather than look at the real reasons the US is not as competitive in the world, the trending thought is that we just need to produce more engineers and mathematicians. However, even if we do, there is no industry left here to make what they design! I think it is very complicated and our values systems are off. To quote Life is Good "Do what you love, love what you do".
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