Education is Overrated

Academic Emma

Maybe education is overrated.  I’m not talking about education for school-aged children. I’m talking about education for the under five set.  Preschool.  Baby school.  Perhaps this is a somewhat hypocritical stance for me to take given that I received a number of extra (unnecessary?) years of formal education myself.  But I’m thinking that a fair amount of this ‘learning’ is a wash.  And, in some cases, does more harm than good.  Just a few examples . . .

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Too old for summer vacation?

Labor Day has come and gone.   And all across the land parents are putting away the summer whites, dropping a week’s pay at Staples for school supplies and then secretly doing the happy dance.  My kids are still too young for elementary school.  But parents, I feel you.

Don’t get me wrong, we had a lovely summer– long afternoons at the playground, cooling off at the beach and the spray park, weekly pilgrimages to the local farmer’s market, and trips to see family and friends.  So why am I okay with watching those days slip away?  Essentially it boils down to this: I am old and infirm and summer requires a LOT of extra energy.  

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