Schooled

The kids are back in school today! They’re all so excited. I love that they love learning, they love the social environment, and they love challenging themselves.

I try never to push them toward grades. They’re plenty smart, and if I focus on evaluation I’m focusing on the wrong thing. I want them to enjoy the pursuit of their own goals, and to take pride in their own accomplishments. I ask them about what they care about, not about how other people judged them. I praise them for helping others, for being kind, and for being curious.

Too many things in this world push you to check boxes, pass tests, and sacrifice your own joyous pursuit of learning on the altar of some arbitrary accomplishment. I will not be one of them.