If you are one of the parents who believe that there is something they have not yet told you about the education of their children, this article is for you. A good education is not just running them away with the flock, trusting that they will learn everything they need to know. Find out which are the 3 key areas of your children's education in which the wise father invests time and effort.
"What you have in your head can never be stolen!"
I still remember these wise words spoken by my father when I was a child. Like every parent, he went to great lengths to provide us with the best education possible.
All parents do it. When it comes to sending their offspring to school, they look for the best alternative available to them and prepare to make the sacrifice of sending their children to an educational establishment for the next 12 years of their lives.
All of this is fine and recommended. Education is the key to any achievement in the adult life of a human being and is the foundation of the progress of a society.
However, it is important for every parent to recognize that there are areas in their child's education that are not going to be promoted in the traditional education system.
Among them, the three most important areas are:
1. Entrepreneurial education
2. Financial education
3. Leadership education
Entrepreneur or employee?
Most parents do not question the fact that schools focus on preparing their students so that they can successfully enter the job market. In other words, they prepare them so that they can find a good job in their adult life.
You will say, "What's wrong?"
Absolutely nothing. Unless you want your child to be a person with an entrepreneurial spirit and who knows how to transform a good idea into something beneficial for herself and her community.
To understand the difference between an entrepreneurial education and a training that prepares our children for employment, let us look closely at the methodology used in the traditional education system:
In a school a certain subject chosen by the Ministry of Education of each country is taught and the acquisition of this knowledge is evaluated through a grade system. Students are viewed as containers that must be filled with such information.
The students who best assimilate the content, will get better grades and will have a better chance of aspiring to a good job when they reach the end of the conveyor belt of 12 years of school.
With this approach, the child is unlikely to develop entrepreneurial skills since these essentially require that he be allowed to explore, develop his own ideas and experiment on his own.
A course full of children exploring and experiencing individually would be a real nightmare for a teacher!
How can parents foster the entrepreneurial skills of their children?
In order to complement their child's academic education with an education that fosters entrepreneurial skills, parents must inspire their children to explore and develop their own projects, even if they are not included in the school curriculum.
Let them pursue their individual interests, even if they don't see much of a future for now. Remember that the learning process is much more important than the final product. The child must work individually, on his own initiative, with enthusiasm and dedication.
Allow a space of time in which your children can develop what is in their heart. Encourage them to experiment. Help them gain a vision for what they could accomplish with a certain talent or skill.
It is important for parents to convey understanding and support to them when a child undertakes a project on his own, rather than holding him back because he has not done his homework.
Parents who demand good school performance above all else must ask themselves if they are not stifling a passion that has great potential for their children's future.
Invest wisely or go into debt?
If your children finish school without knowing how to carry a checkbook, organize a budget, know the power of compound interest and do not know how to invest what they earn, they have a big gap in their education.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of establishments do not prepare their students in the area of financial education. The result is evident: the level of youth indebtedness is alarming. In Chile, more than half of young people between 15 and 25 years of age are in debt with a credit card and 30% of them are delinquent. (Source: www.injuv.gob.cl/pdf/quintaencuestanacionaldejuventud.pdf)
A very bad way to start adult life!
What can parents do to deliver a sound financial education?
It is important for the whole family to acquire financial education. Children copy what their parents do. If parents are tempted by any new purchases when visiting a store, their children will, too. On the other hand, if parents have good saving habits and are wise in managing their resources, their children will also be wise.
Will they send or be sent?
It is important that our children learn to be good leaders. In the Bible it says that King David served his generation well. Wouldn't you want your children to have an impact on your community instead of being submerged in their own needs throughout their lives?
The world needs good leaders. The bad things happen because the good people did not know how to lead and they remained silent at decisive moments.
Even if they don't do great things, they have to know how to make a positive impact on the people around them, because all adults have a greater or lesser circle of influence.
Our children will become leaders by starting a family. If we want them to be responsible husbands and fathers, who also have some influence over their peers and who are people who know how to serve their generation well, we must teach them to be good leaders.
How can we foster leadership skills in our children?
Let's define what a good leader is:
A good leader must have strength of character, be aware of his responsibility for the life of others and be willing to assume it. You must also have the ability to make decisions, be committed to your cause, and the courage to maintain your stance in adversity.
In order for your children to learn to lead in this way, you must do 3 things:
1. Be a good role model for your children.
2. Teach them values and deliver an education that fosters their entrepreneurial skills.
3. Provide your children with good mentors. Find ways to surround them with upright people who will inspire them to be great.
