Curious Parents Class Resources

Why It's Important to Learn
Publisher’s Note

Dear Kids:

You asked me the other day why school is important, why you need to get good grades and this is my answer to you.  Many people will say that you need to study hard in school so that you can get a good job and make a good living.  Others will tell you that you must get good grades so that you can compete with others for admission to the best colleges.  These things are important, but these are by-products of learning and understanding, not reasons. 

The reason that it’s important to learn and understand is because you are human beings and as such, you’ve been granted the privilege of thought and reason – something that God has given only to humans out of all the species he created on earth.  Other animals can learn from their ancestors only through genetic inheritance and instinctual responses – important for survival.  Humans, through our ability to learn and reason and communicate have the advantage of learning from previous generations through the ideas that they pass on to us.  Each generation has the advantage of the body of knowledge and experience of previous generations as a starting point for their own journeys of discovery and exploration.

By working hard in school and being disciplined in your studies, two things will begin to happen.  First, you will begin training your mind to reason and discover truth.  Second, you will begin a lifelong process of accumulating the knowledge of our civilization.  If you are so inclined, you may even contribute to the knowledge of the human race by pursuing your curiosity.

The world is bigger than our little town and there are much more interesting stories than you’ll learn on TV.  There are great and interesting people alive today and who preceeded us in history.  An education prepares you to understand and communicate in the realm of ideas with these great minds.  Education enables you to converse with the likes of Plato, Aristotle, Saint Augustine, DaVinci, Galileo, Keppler, Shakespeare, Dickens, Moliere, Beethoven and Mozart, Pasteur, Fleming and Watson through their ideas and writing. 

When you can reason well and understand the ideas of those who came before us, you will have the ability to take responsible positions on the issues of our culture, contribute meaningfully to the dialogue of our society and lead others to understanding and knowledge.  These will give your life meaning and purpose and when you can do all of these things, a good job and income will fall naturally into place.

When my dad told me this, I didn’t understand it all and I certainly didn’t have the discipline to put my studies before fun – which is why “he was the parent and I was the kid”.  When you ask why you have to finish your homework before going to the movies – it’s because I’m the parent and you’re the kid and some day you’ll need to pass this along to your children with confidence that you’re doing the right thing.

Love,

Dad

John Piccone (Dad) is the publisher of Curious Parents