In the debates about the root word of “education,” there are two that stand out – educare and educere. Arguments ensue about whether education is when a teacher passes on information and mentoring (educare as “nurturing, guiding, as in a garden”) or if it is when the adult draws out the child’s talents (educere as “drawing forth”). However, the concept of children having their own agendas is not in either model, which leaves out the fundamental people.
Albert Schweitzer is attributed with this idea: “It is a trade secret, but I will tell you anyway. All healing is self-healing.” Education is similar. Just observe yourself as a learner. Unless you have some way to connect information and experiences to your own life, you won’t retain the knowledge in your long-term memory.
All learning is actually the possession of the learner. It is the “lead a horse to water” analogy. Teachers, parents, and mentors can support students, model for them, tell them about things, present skills, require practice, and demand performance, but none of those build the student’s knowledge unless the student makes a connection. Sometimes they can make short-term connections through studying for tests, but true knowledge and skills that last come through mental, emotional, and experiential connections.
Maria Montessori said that children have been observing the world for some time and have their own internal goals based on what they see their role models doing. Many young children explore and experiment without asking for guidance. They are figuring things out, which is itself a sign and grower of the mind, let alone resilience, creativity, and initiative. Of course, the adults must make sure those explorations happen safely, but to lose exploring itself in the name of safety is not good for anyone. Learning “Don’t touch that,” is a good skill to have, but too much of it, or “Be careful, you might fall!” can lead children to become fearful or helpless. Be ready to catch them, tell them some items are just yours for now (purses, remotes, phones), and remove unsafe things from the shared spaces until you can guide them on proper use at a proper time.
Long-range parenting 