Motives for learning

I wish I could remember the person that said this:

I prefer my children to be second- place while doing their best work than to get an easy first.

There is every chance that a child that is doing his/her best work will achieve first place. There is also every chance that a child that achieves first place has no intellectual appetite but merely has the desire to be admired and receive accolades.

Does this mean that praise and prizes are bad ? Are prizes sufficient to motivate children throughout the course of their lives? Are we helping our children develop the habits that will help them throughout their lives or are we focused on the short-term goal of being first?

Are our children going to make connections with the knowledge provided or are they learning to test? If we want them to truly ‘know’, what should they know?

According to Charlotte Mason,

In devising a syllabus for a normal child, of whatever social class, three points must be considered: —

(a) He requires much knowledge, for the mind needs sufficient food as much as does the body.

(b) The knowledge should be various, for sameness in mental diet does not create appetite (i.e., curiosity).

(c) Knowledge should be communicated in well-chosen language because his attention responds naturally to what is conveyed in literary form.

Since we know that the mind needs sufficient food, we owe our children books written by people passionate about the subject. We can choose books that will evoke positive emotion and cement our children’s relationship with books. We can choose the best available books on any subject and our children will love to learn even there are no exams to write.

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow