Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Priorities


John Stevens' tweets (above) got me thinking and primed for day one back.   This summer has made me think a great deal about what is important to teach our children.   So far none of the truly important had anything to do with content. A brief list:
1. Understanding and acceptance of all people
2. Respect for authority
3. How to highlight and rectify injustice
4. Respect oneself
5. How to debate an issue without resorting to character defamation
6. How to value someone else's argument even if you disagree
7. How to compromise
8. Critically interpret information and data

As I write this list, I can't help but be reminded of Robert Fulgram's All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten.   In it, he creates a short list of everything people need to know to make the world's a better place. As a parent, I've tried hard to instill these characteristics in my child.  There's always room to improve.

Just a reminder to myself that as we enter the school each day, these are the priorities.  Curriculum should be supplied to support the goals of raising critical, involved, and educated citizens.  We also desperately need more role models that can highlight these virtues.