When our children come home from school, what do we want them to have learned?  If we change our ideas of what education should be, we can better prepare our children to have fulfilling interesting lives. They become capable of not merely learning facts, but utilizing them to build on previous ideas and form new ones of their own.

As your child grows and experiences negative things in their life, the way you react to these experiences models for your child how they should be act.  As they watch their mother and father respond to the negative occurrences that come about, they will evaluate how much or how little they should affect them.  Parents are their children's first and most important teachers.  

When children have been prepared for the unknown aspects of school that will occur, the fear and sense of uncertainty will be minimized and they can feel safer and more able to learn.  If they see the unknown as a opportunity to learn, that small change in perspective can make a huge difference.

All of life must be put into perspective.  In life we have a choice between fear and love.  It is always a choice though. When you take the time and realize you have the ability to make the choice, you open yourself up to so much more. Happy Mother's Day

In our attempt to help and protect our children, we sometimes imprint our own ideas of happiness and success that do not match theirs.  This kind of influence can unintentionally create obstacles that are difficult for them to overcome later in life.  When they find their own way in life through good and hard times, they become invested in their lives and find what their own happiness truly is.  

Sometimes the hardest things for a parent to do are the most beneficial.  By allowing a child to get near a flame, they feel the heat and have a solid understanding of how to protect themselves.  The same could be said about moving toward happiness. When a child comes onto something that draws and fires their interest, it is vital that parents support that passion and see where it may go.

Everything is ultimately interconnected.  If you truly love something and what to know everything about it, it will lead you in directions you never thought you would go.  Passion has its own unique inertia and if you allow it, your own passions to lead you to incredible, unlimited adventures that expand out in all directions.  

Find your passion and feed it.  

This is my memory of growing up and discovering who and what I truly was.  So many people I know spend their lives trying to live other people's dreams. This is so counter productive.  You end up sabotaging yourself if you are not true to your own identity.  You have the live your live with the gifts, tools and passions you have.  I believe success is happiness and happiness is success, so why not truly be happy on your own terms.  No one else can decide for you want things will make you happy.

After being a public and private school teacher for over 20 years, it was time to become a real educator.  This is the story of how I left the educational system so that I could truly teach children.