There are different philosophies of education. There is the Classical education which follows the Medieval model of Greek, Latin and Logic all the way to the Progressive education whose motto would probably be, "Question Authority." Of course, these are on a continuum with different emphases on tradition versus child-led curricula. But, if we are going to make decisions on how to teach our children, how do we know which is best?
Our family is pretty traditional: lots of classic books (not Greek, though!), math, writing, and social and physical sciences once the kids reach junior high. The question for any parent is, how traditional do you want to be?
I'm going to argue unashamedly for my method.
We recently went to the Museum of Science and Industry of Chicago, a one-of-a-kind museum.
"Our mission is to inspire the inventive genius in everyone. Our
vision is to inspire and motivate our children to achieve their full
potential in the fields of science, technology, medicine and
engineering."
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/36-2167797
They have a wonderful exhibit called "Fast Forward: Inventing the Future." It is filled with the biographies of inventors. While many of them were inspired as children, they all learned the rules, the traditions, the foundations of their fields before they began to plan how to do what no man had ever done before.
As a musician, I studied the progression of music theory, the rules of melody and harmony, through history. In every case, music changed because of composers, such as Wagner, who learned the rules of harmony and decided to change them.
Lawyers who find loopholes have become proverbial. But, the best lawyers find the loopholes because they REALLY know the laws.
C. S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, was ridiculously well-read. J.R.R. was a translator of Old English sagas and epic Germanic and Norse poetry before he published The Hobbit. They wrote out of huge foundations.
What happens if you educate your children that the best ideas start with them? That their first impulse should be to question authority? That they should break down or dismiss what has gone before simply because it has gone before? I would propose that such children will not grow up to be Wagner, but Vikings. The Vikings were illiterate. One hundred years after the Dark Ages had overtaken Europe, Irish monasteries had been maintaining literacy throughout their country. The Vikings, seeking plunder, attacked monasteries and found books covered with jewels. Not having books themselves, they tore the covers off and threw away the written word, causing Ireland to shortly thereafter follow the rest of Europe into the Dark Ages. They didn't understand the foundation of the treasures they looted and the result was anarchy.
My mother has told me since I was a small child, "There's no such thing as a stupid question." I agree. I learn a lot from the questions my children ask. They learn to think. But, the answers come from the foundation that we are giving them. They can break the rules later!
