Homeschool Curriculum:
Why Teach Children About the Nature of Money?
One of the great causes of human unhappiness is the belief that happiness can be purchased with money. Consumed by that belief, there are many who do foolish and even wicked things to both acquire and to spend money.
With this in mind and given the universal need for money, it is important for homeschoolers to build lessons into their homeschool curriculum to instruct your children on the nature of money, both its acquition and use. In terms of practical day to day application, there are few lifeskills of greater value.
Why Children Need to Be Taught at an Early Age About The Dangers of Pornography
I don’t believe I am out of line in sugggesting that pornography is a plague that more soul destructive and ruinous of human happiness than perhaps any other human behavior.
In the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior taught, “whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath commited adultry with her already in his heart.” Matthew 5:28
Unfortunately, children are being exposed to pornography at early ages, often before they even understand what adultry is and their natural curiosity makes them vulnerable to looking and even experimenting.
This ought to be a concern to all parents. As mentioned in the video, some 47 percent of all American households report pornography as a problem in their families.
A homeschoolers, you have opportunity to build into your homeschool curruculum opportunities to teach your children about the nature of pornography and its dangers.
Avoidance of pornography is a choice a person can more easily make in advance than when confronted to it without having first made that choice.
That 41% of americans indicate they are willing to use recreatioal drugs is a clear indication that we have not done a good job of helping our young understand the nature of recreational drugs.
What so few seem to understand is that pleasure and pain are frequent traveling companions for those who indulge in these substances.
What ever your homeschool curriculum, it is necessary for you to find opportunity to build into your lessons the nature of substance abuse, recognizing that in many cases even one instance using these drugs may of itself constitute abuse and lead to irreversable damage.
As mentioned in earlier posts, 74% of Americans interviewed in this survey said they would steal from others if they thought their victims would not miss it. 93% of Americans interviewed felt they were the final authority in determining the moral code for their own behavior.
In today’s video, I debunk this idea by demonstrating that the morality of stealing from others is not determined by personal opinion, but the moral code for theft is imbeded in the natural laws that govern human conduct.
This video in the ChoiceSkills TV series explores where and how to find the north star of morality, a reliable, constant guide for making responsible choices in environments of commotion, confusion and contradiction.
In the same way ancient mariners relied on the north star to safely chart their course to where they wanted to go, so also there is a moral north star than can help us chart a steady course to where we really want to go in life.
Benjamin Franklin describes this star which coupled with the scriptural injunction to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” provides clear direction to the happiness most people really seek.
Having a moral north star is an essential lifeskill in today’s world. But where will our children going to get it if their parents and teachers don’t provide it? And for that matter, where are their parents and teachers to get it?
Survey’s indicate that up to 93% of all Americans believe that the only guide they have to making moral choices is their own judgment and 74% of them say they are willing to steal from others if they won’t miss it while 64% say they are willing to lie to others. But there is evidence this approach isn’t working very well.
Today’s video suggests where we might find this moral north star.
In our last blog post, we talked about an important lesson Benjamin Franklin learned as a young man in which he paid too much for a whistle he bought and upon learning what it was really worth, the whistle brought him more pain than pleasure.
Today’s post helps us understand why so many of us are so often, so willing to pay too much for our whistles and as a result bring ourselves pain instead of the pleasure we were anticipating. It also helps us understand why simply knowing right from wrong is not enough.
The above video describes a viral infection I call Cupiditis. Cupiditis is an inflamation of the brain which inhibits rational thought and impairs a person’s ability to think clearly and make responsible choices.
In fact it strips us of all emotional intelligence and creates a condition known as cupidity which the dictionary describes as an overweening or intense desire. It is an easy word to remember, it rhymes with stupidity.
My guess is that all of us have experienced it at one time or another and have made choices in which we paid more for our whistles than they were worth and as a result experienced more pain than the pleasure we anticipated.
In the video two examples are presented. Sir Francis Bacon and President Bill Clinton. I have chosen them simply because they are two individuals of high intelligence and significant responsibity who compromised their integrity in the pursuit of pleasure. They illustrate that no one is invincible who becomes careless in their choices.
Homeschoolers and all parent teachers need to take note of this lesson from the life of Benjamin Franklin. It explains a great mystery in life. Why are so many so unhappy? Why do we spend so much of our lives climbing the wrong mountains and going the wrong direction? And what is most homeschool curriculum missing that is so essential to a child’s development?
Today’s video describes a lesson Benjamin Franklin learned as a 7 year old child that saved him a great deal of difficulties in his live that taught him not to may too much for his whistles.
I invite you to visit the choiceskills website page on homeschool curriculum and learn more about teaching your children how to avoid paying too much for their whistles.
Whatever you may think of the concept of multiple intelligences, we all recognize there are greater and lesser intelligences. But, there is a common misunderstanding of what constitutes the difference between the two. It is this difference that homeschoolers need to understand in teaching their children.
Homeschool curriculum, like curriculum in public education are unidimensional by design. A math lesson is a math lesson. A history lesson is a history lesson. All taught with the goal of increasing or enlarging the intelligence of children. But no matter how successful the teacher and student may be, the most essential element separating greater and lesser intelligences is still missing.
It is possible for a person to be a genius intellectually and be an imbecile with repect to personal conduct. An individual may be clever and highly competent in a profession or skill and corrupt in the practice of it. While there may be those who think of such a person as intelligent, some questions must be asked. “Is the mere possession of knowledge a mark of intelligence, or is in the use of knowledge that the true measure of intelligence may be found?” ”Is the person who uses knowledge to the betterment of the human condition more intelligent than the person who uses knowledge to injure himself and/or others? ” and “Why did Theordore Roosevelt say, ‘To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.’?” It’s worth thinking about.
One important thing to understand about theories is that they are theories. As such they may provide useful information and even insights into the nature of thing and herein lies their benefit. But it must always be remembered that once a thing becomes absolutely known, it is no longer a theory.
Essential LifeSkills
There are multiple theories of multiple intelligences, and the one presented above is merely another. To me, it is more helpful in understanding human nature and how people learn than other theories. But intelligence is so much more that what we are discussing here. The usefulness of this theory is only as helpful as it will be to you as a homeschooler in teaching your children essential lifeskills.
I invite you to go to the following links to learn more about the essential lifeskills children need to learn and how you as homeschooler can go about teaching these skills to your children.
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