What is Education Really?

By Mary Hill

We define education as formal schooling. When we write about our personal educational histories, we refer to them as an educational career or background. Those words are puny when compared to the reality of just how much education influences who we are as people, as families and as combined communities.  

Whether in a private, public, or home school setting, a child spends almost 6.5 hours working with a teacher or parent home school educator then add in an addition 1.5 to 2 hours for homework. If you sit down to actually calculate how much time education encompasses a person’s life, it really would astound you. Consider we only have 168 hours in one week, and we sleep about 56 of those hours which leaves about 112 hours. A child spends about 45 to 50 hours a week in a school and studying at home which represents almost half of a child’s available time throughout the work week. 
   
A Social Construct Unravelled

Education is a societal construct. We are involved in educational pursuits when attend formal schooling, but really education is something more profound. It speaks to our essence. It is our learning experiences which occur 24/7.  We breathe; we learn. We see; we learn. We face storms; we learn. We grow; we learn. 

Education, therefore, is not just a mere background to place on a resume. It is a journey or part of our personal biography that defines who we are. Our educational biographies blend and grow into bigger family stories, and those stories blend to create community stories. These stories ripple into time. 

Every family has its own family educational biography. What is your family’s educational biography?

Creating Your Educational Biography

As a parent this is a good launching point as we continue to think about our roles as our children’s first teachers. Take time today to think about your personal educational story and then your family’s educational history.  Who were your major educational influencers? Many teachers will probably come to mind immediately, but what about your parents? How much of a role did they play? 

Importance of Examining Your Role in Your Children’s Education

Do you feel cheated or a vacuum in your life because your parents weren’t there and just turned you over to the “educational professionals.” Or were they involved, loving, and supporting you?  Do you want to repeat a sad history of non-involvement if you parents weren’t there or do you want to carry on a rich educational tradition? Either scenario presents opportunities for you to influence your child in ways that will have legacy consequences.

“The true purpose of education is to cherish and unfold the seed of immortality already sown within us; to develop, to their fullest extent, the capacities of every kind with which the God who made us has endowed us.”
—Anna Jameson, British author and educator, 1794–1860