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 Should a college-educated woman
feel that she has wasted her training if she chooses not to use
it professionally? I mean, why should I bother to go through school
to be a professional if I’m going to wind up raising kids
and being a full-time homemaker?
A
person doesn’t go to college just to prepare for a line of
work — or at least, that shouldn’t be the reason for
being there. The purpose for getting a college education is to broaden
your world and enrich your intellectual life. Whether or not it
leads to a career is not the point. Nothing invested in the cultivation
of your own mind is ever really wasted. If you have the desire to
learn and the opportunity to go to school, I think you should reach
for it. Your career plans can be finalized later.
+ + +
I’ve
read that it is possible to teach 4-year-old children to read. Should
I be working on this with my child?
If
a youngster is particularly sharp and if he or she can learn to
read without feeling undue adult pressure, it would be advantageous
to teach this skill. But that’s a much bigger “if”
than most people realize. There are some parents who find it difficult
to work with their children without showing frustration over immaturity
and uninterest.
Furthermore,
new skills should be taught at the age when they are most needed.
Why invest unnecessary effort trying to teach a child to read when
he has not yet learned to cross the street, tie his shoes, count
to 10 or answer the telephone?
It
seems foolish to get panicky over preschool reading. The best policy
is to provide your children with many interesting books and materials,
read to them every day and answer their questions. You can then
introduce them to phonics and watch the lights go on. It’s
fun if you don’t push too hard.
o
These
are excerpted from books written by Dr. James Dobson of Focus on
the Family and published by Tyndale House.
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