The Real Value of Education is in Making a Happy Life, Not Just a Living

let's raise happy kids who can think for themselves

Do you ever catch yourself worrying about your child's grades—wondering if they'll struggle to get into college or land a good job? That little voice whispers, ‘What if they fall behind?’ Even in homeschooling, it's hard to shake the idea that success comes down to test scores.

Somewhere along the way, we started treating education like a job-training program. Even those of us homeschooling feel that nagging question, ‘But what about their future job?

We tell kids to study hard, get good grades, land a secure job, and call it success. Even many of us homeschooling parents have a tough time erasing the voice in our heads that says we should push our kids to do ‘better.’ Somewhere in the back of our minds is the idea that someday, all the hard work will translate to a great job… and that elusive quality known as happiness.

We grow up in a world that tells us success is high test scores, a good college, a ‘good’ job… and all the other boxes to be ticked that will someday equate to ‘having a life’ or to happiness. But does it really work that way?

And is that what learning is really about?

What IS Education about?

We often resort to measuring what our kids learn by what they memorize or what boxes their work checks. And then wonder how we can raise kids who can think instead of just memorize.

But a thoughtful education is about sparking kids’ curiosity, expanding their minds, and teaching them how to think.

Real education is messy. It doesn’t fit into neat boxes. It teaches kids how to ask big questions and search for the answers, challenge assumptions, and fall in love with learning.

Imagine your three-year-old child rushing outside in early spring to try to play with the birds gathering around the bird feeder or picking the first spring flowers and asking tons of questions about their petals and colors. Your three-year-old is filled with wonder and excitement, and a desire to learn. They ask ‘why’ a hundred times a day.

Then imagine your three-year-old becoming an eight-year-old who is bored and desperate to do anything but sit at the table doing their work, who answers in monosyllables when you ask them a question, and who dreads school… that spark, that desire to know, feels like it’s fading out.

But NOW imagine your eight-year-old curled up on your couch engrossed in a chapter book, barely looking up until they finish the last page, then rushing to tell you about the story… SO inspired by what they’ve read, they start dreaming of being a writer… You and your kid bounce some ideas for stories and characters off each other over snacks. Your kid gets even more excited.

They want to start immediately. You help them focus their ideas with a mind-mapping activity and before evening they’ve named their main character and have about a hundred more ideas for their storyline.

Your eight-year-old is teaching themselves to be an independent thinker.

A meaningful education teaches kids skill mastery in core subjects… so they can get a job. But it does a lot more than that. It prepares them for life. It teaches them how to think critically, analyze, compare, innovate, become resilient… build the life they want, AND contribute to the world.

It helps shape who they are. Not just what they do.

Imagine your eight-year-old writing a story… their own story. The challenges they overcome to do it, the practical life skills they gain in the process, and the self-confidence they build in the process. Yes, there may be spelling, grammar, or punctuation mistakes. They will still need to tackle those. But the multitude of ideas they will have wrestled with and gained insights into… will be life-changing.

They will be a lot closer to succeeding at whatever career path they choose because they are learning how to think… not because they are learning the rules of grammar.

What ‘successful’ adulting looks like for a society

So what happens when kids grow up this way—when they learn to think instead of just memorize?

We need thinkers, innovators, and problem-solvers.

People who know how to ask why—not just how. People who see learning as a lifelong process, not a sprint to the next test or promotion. We need kids who grow to up be adults with real-world skills instead of just traditional job training. We don’t need more people trained just to follow instructions.

A quick job search will tell you that most companies hiring mid and upper-level positions, and all entrepreneurial ventures, value problem-solving, adaptability, and creativity more than just degrees or credentials. They want adults who have those intangible yet all-important thinking and personal skills. Many companies are prioritizing skills over degrees and not just specific job skills but life skills.

Some of the greatest thinkers—Einstein, Jobs, Maya Angelou—didn’t fit into traditional education systems… Your child doesn’t need to be a famous or brilliant thinker to build a meaningful life. They just need the life skills to be themselves.

Education should teach kids how to think, not just what to think.

We need to teach kids how to connect and challenge ideas, and imagine something better. Education should help kids see that success isn’t fitting into the world as it is—success is having the vision and ability to change it.

If we only see education as a means to a paycheck, we miss the point entirely. The real goal isn’t to produce workers—it’s to nurture whole, thinking, compassionate human beings.

Giving kids a meaningful education can help them build a better world.

Think about the number of adults who’ve ticked every box, gone to college, gotten a job… in the hopes that then they would ‘be successful’ and ‘be happy’ only to realize happiness is still a few more boxes down the list.

Yes, income is important and necessary for most of us, but so is happiness and having a life.

Do we want to raise kids who become adults who fit in and tick boxes… and who wake up decades later desperate to find themselves, believe in themselves, find purpose… and feel happy?

Or do we want to raise kids who can think, who can both fit in and stand out, and more importantly… be themselves and think for themselves? Who can define success and happiness for themselves?

How to create a meaningful education for your kid

Yes, what you teach is important. But equally important is how you teach your child.

When you focus more on helping your kid understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and innovate, they learn how to learn. They become more confident, kind, and empathetic people.

And that confidence and ability to think means that later on, in adulthood if they find themselves in a career they want to change, they’ll know they can gain new skills, and find something that is in closer alignment with who they are as a person.

How to help your child gain that list of intangible thinking and life skills

• Teach and mentor them personally to build a strong relationship with them.

• Spend time learning alongside your child—debate ideas, explore big questions together, and make learning personal.

• Take lessons off the page and help your kid apply them in real life, through play and games and low-risk independent projects.

By keeping our sites on the purpose of education, we can structure the daily ways we teach our kids around those values and help them learn to think… and build a life.

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