Ah, TED Talks. What would we do without them, really? Those inspiring folks, getting up there and ranting to us about everything under the sun. This morning, I’m enjoying Larry Smith’s “Why You Will Fail To Have A Great Career.”
As someone who has a somewhat unorthodox career, I’ve thought a fair bit about pursuing your passions. I am someone who has no shortage of passions. I love writing. I love the outdoors. I love working for social change. I love music.
Unfortunately, these passions generally fall on the list of undesirable careers, those careers with low prestige, low earning capacity, and challenging prospects.
During my time in school, these passions were part of me, but they weren’t necessarily supported as career options. In school I found it easy to become one of the crowd, to try to rework my passions because they didn’t fit into the ideals of what I “should” be doing. I was a bright enough kid, and as a girl who liked science I was encouraged to go into engineering or medicine. I’m glad I didn’t. I’m glad that I took some time as an emerging adult to consider what actually inspired me. Neither field suits me in the slightest. Instead, I went into the field (literally) of outdoor education – one that I deeply enjoy. And I am very, very happy with my choice, although it took the rest of my family and friends some time to get used to the idea.
And now, I see many people who want to do what I do. They’re people with other careers who’ve decided that perhaps their true calling IS actually to muck around in creeks with kids. But sometimes this realization takes a while, and I think that’s because of the need to break through the pressure that tells you that you must pursue something that feels more socially acceptable.
How does this relate to homeschooling? Well, homeschooling certainly doesn’t exist in a realm outside social pressure. However, if you let it, homeschooling makes it a little easier to move away from some of the pressures to do x,y,and z because you’re good at a,b,and c. It allows you to move out of the idea that learning exists for the sake of getting a particular job. You can do this when you have children in school too, of course, but it can be more challenging to push against those pressures.
Homeschooling also allows you to give your children more scope for exploration, and what’s more, they can try their hand at different passions earlier. Perhaps they want to start their own magazine, or invest some serious time into becoming a professional pianist. Learning can be about exploring the breadth of your passions and finding something that excites you so much that you want to master it. And isn’t that what learning should really be about?
Image courtesy of ralev.