Teaching Youth the Importance of Education

Great mutual and FHE lesson ideas to teach about the eternal value of education and preparing for their futures

 

What do you think about when someone says “education”?

Ok… what came to your mind?

Did you think about going to school?  Teachers? Homework? Or do you think about “learning” and “gaining knowledge” – separate from formal learning and schooling?

Ask your children this and see what they say.

Education is an eternal principle.  We came to earth to gain experience (to continue our education in a way that could only happen here in mortality).  Our ultimate goal is to become all-knowing (or all-educated).

However, “education” is often associated with “school”, “tuition”, “homework”, “papers”, “worksheets”, “sitting still for long periods of time”, etc.   So if you asked the youth the question, “why is it important to gain an education and develop skills?”  They are likely going to immediately talk about grades in school and going to college; rather than the eternal importance for us to grow in intelligence.

And if we think that education means “school” – does that impact our attitude about learning? And does learning then mean “getting good grades” or “just doing what the teacher asks” (and nothing more)?

 

Here is a good activity to get the youth thinking:

 

Write up on the board (or three papers) these three attitudes about school:

Come Follow Me November lesson about education

 

 

(You can print the picture above and cut them up)

ONE:  “I am here to pass”

TWO:  “I am here to get good grades so I can get into college”

THREE: “I am here to gain intelligence and knowledge”

Have the youth consider those 3 different attitudes and ask them how those would impact their experience in school.  Let them share what they see and feel.

 

You could ask them these questions:

 

Imagine three kids in the same history class – each of them with one of the attitudes:

 

1.  Where might they sit in class (and why)?

2.  When do they arrive to class?  (Although they may all arrive on time, the one who is there more casually may strategically max out their number of allowed tardiness and absences)

3.  What would their studying for class look like?

4. What might be their attitude about cheating?

5.  What would their respect (and gratitude) for the teacher be?

6.  How may they behave in class?

7.   Which one has the brightest future?

 

What do you think would happen if we could instill into our children the desire and love of gaining intelligence over the attitude of “I have to go to school”?  What would that do for them?  And what would that do for their future?  And what would that do to help us gain Zion?

Because, Intelligence = TRUTH.  So they would be on a journey of learning, discerning and loving truth.  IN and OUT of school.  School would just be a place of concentrated learning.

The Come Follow Me Curriculum has an excellent lesson for this.  Helping each other gain a stronger testimony and understanding of the doctrine of Intelligence and eternal need of education is pivotal in that paradigm shift of that desire to gain knowledge.

Great mutual and FHE activity to teach our kids about education, budgets and how to prepare for their futures

On another note…

When I taught seminary, we were asked to teach an education lesson every year.  So we were supposed to stop wherever we were in the scriptures and focus on the importance of education, specifically obtaining some sort of higher education.  (HERE is a suggested lesson plan – there are also some great education quotes there.)

We had these great videos that we would use and they had all sort of stats in them.  So, I made a handout that the kids could take notes on as they watched and learned.  Many of the stats had to do with average earned salaries compared to levels of education.  So they would say something like – if you get “this much” education, on average you will earn “this much”.

Well, after a while I could tell that the students weren’t really comprehending the difference between $30,000 and $50,000.  So I would pull up an online budget sheet (like THIS one) and show them what it looked like to provide for a family.

This would make a great FHE or mutual activity – and would go really great with the November Come Follow Me Curriculum on Self-Reliance. Here are some things I did:

1.  I would hook my laptop up to my projector or television.  This would help the budget making more interactive and more interesting.  (For a mutual activity I would just get together to someone’s house and gather around a TV that has the capability to be connected  to a laptop).

2.  I would then pull up a real estate website (with built-in mortgage calculators) and I would pick a nice, modest home around where they already lived.  We would look at the home and then we would play around with the mortgage calculator.  Try putting various down payments and various interest rates.  Kids will be SHOCKED.  I always gave them a little “how to qualify for good interest rates” and “the importance of cash” talk.  You could also show them how much they will actually pay for the house over 15 or 30 years verses the various amounts of down payments and interest rates.

3.  After that you could have a talk about the knowledge and power of cash and savings and SELF-RELIANCE.  This is a really good lesson to learn early on in life, and something they can do now.

4.  I would then take the mortgage payment (with an average down payment and interest rate) and put it into the online budge.

5.  Then you can go through the itemized lines one-by-one.   They will likely have no idea what utilities cost until they do this activity.  The further on you get the more wide-eyed they will become.   You may want to add “vacation”,  “emergency preparedness”, “internet”, “television” and “cell phones” in the budget.   And THEN you will get to “eating out”,  “activities and lessons”, “clothing”, “gifts” , etc. and let THEM tell you what they want to spend each month.

6.  After you are finished you will see a total.  Take that total and multiply it by twelve.  Then figure out how to get that total AFTER taxes and tithing. THAT is the salary they need.

7.  Then have a discussion about what they can do now to prepare themselves to achieve that life they want.  They may be overwhelmed, but you can play a great role  in helping them feel confident that they can achieve the life they desire.

Here is one of my favorite quotes to share:

President Gordon B. Hinckley:

 

“Get all the education you can.  I repeat, I do not care what you want to be as long as it is honorable.  A car mechanic, a brick layer, a plumber, an electrician, a doctor, a lawyer, a merchant, but not a thief.  But whatever you are, take the opportunity to train for it and make the best of that opportunity.  Now is the great day of preparation for each of you.  If it means sacrifice, then sacrifice.  That sacrifice will become the best investment you have ever made, for you will reap returns from it all the days of your life.”  (Teaching, p. 171)

 

——————————–

And here are our teaching package for this lesson:

You can find this package and read more about it HERE.

One comment

  1. Education is what separates humans from animals. Education makes us confident, make us independent. Education spreads awareness in society about how we can be a good social being and removes blanket of ignorance and helps people in knowing them their fundamental rights . Education helps in imparting moral values which is missing in our youth and needs to be addressed carefully for creating a good society.

Leave a Reply