Curious Parents Class Resources

Education Gets Kids Ahead
Publisher's Note

What is the surest way for your children to get ahead in life?  Is there any way to ensure your children will be better off than you?  History shows us the answer unequivocally; immigrants seem to know the answer intuitively: education is the key to advancement in life.  The best way to achieve an individual’s fullest potential is to achieve the highest level of education possible. 

We can point to athletes, movie stars, rock stars and other celebrities who have attained wealth, fame and material success.  Bill Gates is the most commonly cited example of someone who achieved massive wealth while shunning education when he dropped out of Harvard University.  These, however are the exceptions—the probability of achievement through education is much greater than the crap shoot of sports, entertainment and celebrity stardom. 

As all of us parents head back to school with our children this month, what can we do to instill an appreciation for education?  Between the shopping trips for clothes and notebooks, have a conversation with your kids about the importance of education.  Identify and discuss some heroes who have contributed or achieved through education and academics and help your kids adopt educated role models.  Set academic goals with your children that are attainable but cause them to stretch and assign rewards that will be significant when they achieve the goals.  Have dinnertime conversations about interesting topics and new advancements in science, math, and the humanities.  Celebrate every test score as you would a basketball game, make report card day an event, and attend back to school night.

Focus your children’s attention on academics and education and you’ll be surprised how they’ll respond in kind.  You know those sports statistics and those other facts that you can quote from memory?  If you become as familiar with your child’s grades and subjects and discuss them as often as your favorite team, I guarantee your child’s grades will improve. 

John Piccone is the publisher of Curious Parents