Education is about virtue...

Dear children, it is such a strange thing being human, isn't it?  We live in such a small part of the big picture.  It was a HUNDRED years from when Columbus "discovered" America and when there was any real effort to settle the New World. More than a lifetime.  Our  lives are so short in the scheme of history that we can hardly see how our piece fits in.

But you are part of this big picture of history as we all create the society which is shaping the history of today. And if you  hope to be a good part  of this big picture we live in then you need to see the big picture of getting an education.  Education is about virtue... learning what is good, what is beautiful, and what is true.  Since the time of Socrates this was known, "Whom do I call educated? First, those who manage well the circumstances they encounter day by day. Next, those who are decent and honorable in their intercourse with all men, bearing easily and good naturedly what is offensive in others and being as agreeable and reasonable to their associates as is humanly possible to be... those who hold their pleasures always under control and are not ultimately overcome by their misfortunes... those who are not spoiled by their successes, who do not desert their true selves but hold their ground steadfastly as wise and sober -- minded men." 

Education is not about figuring out what your teacher will put on a test and memorizing it, it not about standing in line and being able to follow directions, it is not even about being a productive member of society.  What good is an educated society if it is not one that seeks virtue? Yes, we need people who are able to work at the jobs that make society go but what we need more are kind neighbors, loving husbands and patient mothers.  We need virtuous people who are able to conquer their selfishness.  Education should produce thinkers, not a mass population of followers.  Education should shine light on the good, beautiful and true.  We need good citizens who love good things, not individuals who want a paycheck.

Learning facts and skills is only part of eduction.  It is good to explore the world and to understand how things work.  But we should be educating the whole child and that includes educating them on how they can be good, more human people.  Children are more than bodies to be busied, more than minds to be exercised, they are souls longing to love, to create and to overcome.