Everyone is "In Education"

The other day I was reading an introduction letter from a school principal to his new high school freshmen. In the letter, this principal mentions that he's been "in education" for the last 24 years. His terminology got me thinking...what does it mean that's he's been "in education" for all these years? While I'm sure some of those years were spent teaching in a classroom, some of them have been spent administering staff, budgets, buildings, etc. Who is really "in education" full-time at the grassroots level, answering children's questions and guiding them through the greater part of their lives?

It struck me that the answer to that question is...parents. Parents, whether they realize it or not, are "in education" for at least 18 years, and probably longer, especially if they have more than one child.

There are some parents who think that if they get their child out of bed, fed, to school on time, and ask the child daily if he's done his homework that they've done their job of contributing to the child's education. But, as most teachers will tell you, the children who do best in school are the children whose parents are the most involved. Yes, children whose parents care do have an advantage. However, if schools are to succeed in their mission, if humanity ever hopes to make the world a more humane place, then all adults everywhere, even those who are not parents, are going to have to realize that we are all "in education".

The future of children, of each succeeding generation, is really the interest of every adult because what we teach children, or don't teach them, becomes the road to the future of a country, the future of the world. More people without children should take greater interest in what goes on in their neighborhood schools and with the young people of their community. Older people, especially those who are not geographically close to their extended families or who have no families, are a huge wasted resource in our society. There is so much that children, especially those in single-parent families, could learn and gain from other adults sharing in the job of educating them, not just in academic subjects but also in the practical and philosophical aspects of life.

I'm "in education". You're "in education". The only questions are who we teach, what we teach, if we realize we're teaching, and how we can make that teaching mean something positive to the future.