This has been a big year of change for me, and many of these books explore debunking commonly held beliefs and opening your mind to new ways of thinking. So you’ll probably enjoy these books more if you’re open to hearing new and different ideas, even if you don’t agree with them. By sharing this list, I’m not saying I agree with everything written in all of these books, but they each helped me think about things in new ways, gave me an understanding of different perspectives, and opened up my mind to concepts I have never before considered. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

This is an eye-opening book, showing how much our health as humans is negatively affected by eating “foods” that have been largely processed or chemically produced, rather than whole, natural foods like fruits and vegetables. Judging the nutritional value of food based on nutrients is helpful for scientists, but nutrients taken out of the context of food, or combined to create new pseudo-foods, offer less value than the natural food itself, despite the health claims on the package. The author also shows why many scientific food studies are not trustworthy, often tweaking the experiments to give the right result for the publishers of the nutritional articles.

The author relates many studies about how detrimental the typical western diet is to our health, how and what humans eat has changed over the millennia, and how to change our eating habits to reflect more of what our bodies were meant to ingest. If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend you do if you want to understand how what you’re putting into your body is affecting you, and how the concept of what food is has changed over the past several decades. Buy In Defense of Food

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto

This book explores the negative influences of institutionalized schooling. Two-time “teacher of the year” award-winning author, John Taylor Gatto argues that in school we are not taught to think for ourselves, so much as we are taught to follow orders and jump through hoops, while cramming our brains with irrelevant facts. Further, he claims the school system has been setup this way intentionally. School graduates make great employees and government citizens because they do what they’re told without questioning. But this does not usually lead to innovation, a passion for learning, or personal fulfillment.

The book consists of six fairly random essays, written over a period of many years (two given as speeches in which he’d earned the teacher of the year award). While many of his points are simply strong opinion, I think this book is a very worthwhile read. Buy Dumbing Us Down.

Second Sight: An Intuitive Psychiatrist Tells Her Extraordinary Story and Shows You How to Tap Your Own Inner Wisdom by Judith Orloff, M.D.

I picked this book up because I wanted to get better at following my intuition and understand the meaning behind my feelings. And I found it absolutely fascinating! Psychiatrist Judith Orloff shows us through numerous experiences in her own life and the lives of her colleagues and patients, how we each have the ability to sense things through intuition, and that this ability can be enhanced through practice.

The book tells her story of how these abilities were rejected by her parents and later her colleagues in the medical community, and how she was eventually able to overcome those rejections and utilize her gifts in her practice and in many other ways. The book is well written and easy to read. Inspiring and controversial, this book will challenge your beliefs about the limits of the human mind and your potential to see more than just with your physical senses. Buy Second Sight or get the older edition on Kindle.

Insider’s View of Mormon Origins by Grant H. Palmer

Unless you’re LDS or have interest in Mormon history, this book will probably not appeal to you. But having grown up as a Mormon in Utah, this book opened my eyes to a lot of historical realities of early Mormon history that are usually swept under the rug in Sunday school classes. Having been written by an active LDS historian and former Institute director, this book was surprisingly candid. I learned a great deal about how Joseph Smith actually translated the Book of Mormon and other texts, how the stories of the first vision and restoration of the Priesthood developed over time, and more about the men and women who were instrumental in establishing the LDS church, and the 19th century setting they lived in.

The author did not delve into the controversial topics of polygamy and the origins of the Temple ceremony, but the topics he did cover were historically honest and thorough. I do feel that some of his conclusions were a little speculative, but there is still a lot of good data in the book, and I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about accurate LDS church history. Buy Insider’s View of Mormon Origins.

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson

This is an interesting study that debunks several myths about the effectiveness of many popular parenting strategies. The topics covered include: the inverse power of praise, how racial prejudice develops, why kids lie, the question of whether self-control can be taught, how sleep affects learning ability, how children learn their native as well as foreign languages, and much more. Parenting techniques and even products such as the popular “Baby Einstein” shows are put under the microscope of scientific scrutiny. The author draws from several studies that show that what we have been taught to believe is effective parenting, is often just a myth. Buy NurtureShock.

Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsh

I actually listened to the audio version of this book on the plane while flying around South America. It’s written by a man who was troubled by some sincere questions, wrote them down, and subsequently found himself dictating the answers that came to him, as a conversation with God. Countless challenging questions are asked and answered, with topics ranging from the nature of God and reality, to why bad things happen, what is truth, how to love, and so much more. Some Christians may not like the way God is portrayed in the book, as a witty, yet unconditionally loving (totally non-judgmental) presence that is neither male nor female. But whether or not you agree with everything in this book, there are some very thought-provoking perspectives worthy of attention. I thought God’s “jokes” really added to the entertainment value.

Most of all, the book encourages readers to listen within and have our own conversations with God. I personally enjoyed this book very much. Buy Conversations With God. (Note: There are 3 different books combined in one in the link above. If you want the audio or kindle versions, you can search on Amazon. They’re there as separate books.)

What Does That Mean?: Exploring Mind, Meaning, and Mysteries by Eldon Taylor

This is definitely a book of questioning, and a book worth questioning – truly one of the strangest books I’ve ever read – yet it did give me much to think about. This author draws on experiences in his life, some of which border on the miraculous or ridiculous, to get us to think more about the possibility of things we had previously denied were possible. Many unique topics are covered from the nature of reality, to miracles, purpose, free will, psychic spirituality, memory, coincidence, ghosts, intuition, civility, and much much more. I don’t know how much of what he has said is credible, but if you’re looking for a thought-provoking book, buy What Does That Mean?

Life is What You Make It: Find Your Own Path to Fulfillment by Peter Buffet

Written by the son of billionaire Warren Buffet, the focus of the book is to help you discover your purpose in life, and to make of it what you chose. He discusses the importance of doing what you love, the cankering effects of entitlement, the joy of giving your time and means to help others, and shares many important life skills and even parenting tips along the way. Peter’s views were very well articulated, and you can tell he is a real thinker with some profound insights and great experiences to share.

For anyone who doesn’t love what they do every day, is searching for a perfect career, or struggling to find meaning in their lives, I recommend Life Is What You Make It. Actually, I recommend it regardless. Note: I wrote a more complete review of this book a few months ago. Click here to read my full review. Or Buy Life is What You Make It.

The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore by Deepak Chopra

In this book, Deepak Chopra proposes that there are three different images of Jesus on which we can choose to place our focus. The historical man Jesus who lived 2,000 years ago, the Jesus created by Christianity as theology developed, and the radical mystic teacher who taught his followers how to live a life more connected to God. It is on this third Jesus that Chopra focuses the majority of the book through an exploration of scripture and other texts and their meaning for us then and now. I found this book to be a beautiful reminder of the teachings of Jesus and an interesting new look into what Jesus may have intended in his teachings. Buy The Third Jesus.

How to Know God: The Soul’s Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries by Deepak Chopra

It’s hard to deny that our brains are hard-wired to find God. This book explores seven major ways that God has been found by cultures and religions throughout history, and demonstrates the idea that how God is viewed is largely influenced by the mindset and needs of the people who view Him.

Using science and an interesting mix of Eastern and Western philosophy, Chopra discusses everything from the different stages of belief in God, to the effectiveness of prayer and what we know so far about geniuses and prodigies, quantum physics, telepathy, former lifetimes, clairvoyance, prophecy, and much more. I found parts of the book a little tedious, but overall, I think it’s an interesting read for an open mind. Buy How to Know God.

You Are the Answer: Discovering and Fulfilling Your Soul’s Purpose by Michael J. Tamura

This book is about finding your life’s purpose through intuition, recognizing truth, increasing your spiritual awareness, and creating miracles in your life. Yes, this can definitely be considered a “New Age” book. Michael also talks about the nature of death, how he can see people’s auras, and how people’s spirits partially leave their bodies during sleep, during which time he often jokes about teaching “night classes”. In his book, he also offers many practical suggestions for finding meaning in your life, being a happier and more loving person, and having greater inner peace in your life. A book not for the faint of mind, but yet another book that may invoke new thoughts. Buy You Are the Answer.

If you’ve read any of these books, I’d love to hear your thoughts about them, as well as any other thought-provoking books you’ve read lately. Please share your comments below.

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If you haven’t heard of Expat Alley, it’s a great resource for those interested in living abroad, and includes many interviews from other expats as well. The author of the blog, Tom, is also the husband of Maya Frost who wrote the excellent book: The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Education, and Get a Truly International Education. If you’re interested in providing your kids a more global education, or if you just want to save some money on college, this is a great book to check out.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the interview, which posted today.

Click here to read the interview with Expat Alley.

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Share and Enjoy

He asked questions about everything from what life is like in Costa Rica, to how I run my business, and how I educate my kids. I hope that my story can be an inspiration to those looking to do something similar in their lives.

Check out the interview at the link below.

http://www.jetsetcitizen.com/work-anywhere/interview-brandon-pearce/

You can also follow JetSetCitizen on twitter at @jetsetcitizen.

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Experiences are more important than possessions

Possessions can still be fun, but usually, they are just a distraction from what’s really most important – they’re a big money pit as well. Yes, I still bought an iPad (and even paid extra to have it brought to Costa Rica), and although fun, I still find it to be time sapper and a money pit. It can easily take me away from doing other things I should be doing. I guess this is a lesson I’m still in the process of learning. :) On the other hand, I sold almost everything I own because I realize that most of it was unnecessary and not really contributing to my comfort or happiness. I don’t really need more than 7 shirts, for example, and I feel much more free and light with less “stuff” to worry about.

Money can buy freedom

No, I’m not talking about bailing someone out of jail, although it could do that, too. I used to think the main purpose of money was to buy “stuff”. But now I realize that money can buy assets that are much more valuable, such as time, security, and freedom. If you have enough money, you’re free from worrying about covering monthly bills or losing a job, free to do more of the things you enjoy, with more time to enjoy it. You also have more resources (including time) to give and help others. It’s very liberating and empowering. Money is not evil. Rather, it is a powerful tool for good or evil, depending on how you use it.

Stay close to God and you will be happy no matter what

There is something special in the power that comes through seeking God in prayer, meditation, and reading holy writ. It brings peace through adversity, hope through trials, and joy throughout life. I believe that without a relationship with God, a man is just half a man and will never achieve a fulness of life.

Most people hold themselves back by fear

As I’ve broken away from the mold of society in many ways the past few years, I’ve been shocked to learn how fearful many people are of the unknown, even if the unknown can lead to something much better. Fear causes anxiety, stress, health problems, and unhappiness. Fear also inhibits growth. It’s better to believe that anything’s possible, face challenges head-on, and work to make your dreams happen. It’s a lot more fun and exciting, too. Sure, problems will come up along the way, but few are uncorrectable. And the ones that are usually can’t be controlled anyway, so why worry about them? Fear just holds you back from growth and enjoyment of life.

Don’t listen to the masses

Most people don’t have a clue about why they do things the way they do. They just do them because it’s what everyone else does. Even if it doesn’t make sense or they hate it, they don’t usually stop to consider alternatives. Or if they do, they’re too held back by fear (see above) to make any changes. This leads to major problems. Three examples that are going to label me as an extremist, until you take time to think about them:

• School is not education. Education and learning are life-long processes. Sending kids to school, away from the family for 4-8 hours a day, to memorize information they don’t care about 90% of the time, and will most likely never use, is not the same as education, and is not necessary for a happy and productive life. Then there’s the busywork – I mean homework that’s assigned to eat up kids time outside of school.  Why not just learn on your own about whatever you’re interested in (unschool / self-directed education)? Much more interesting. Much more direct. Much more useful. The Internet is a great teacher. Of course human teachers are still helpful in many fields, but you can find them outside of the school environment as tutors and specialists in your fields of interest. Our kids are leading their own education and doing great!
• Jobs suck life. Everyone seems to think that a great goal in life (and the purpose of school as well) is to get a job. But this job demands you to be gone (again, away from your family), for 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week, with only 2 weeks of vacation per year, causing many people great anticipation for weekends and retirement. Why do people put up with that? What you’re actually doing is making some entrepreneur wealthy, putting your livelihood in someone else’s hands, and delaying your life until you’re 60 (unless you honestly enjoy your job, which few do). There is no such thing as job security – they could fire you whenever they want. Why not flip the equation and be the entrepreneur that creates jobs for other people? If you’re smart about it, you can even structure your business to run on its own, so you make money whether you work or not, giving you control of your time and your life, rather than an employer or your business. I love this part of owning a business. Being willing to live with less can make this a reality much more quickly as well.
• Good food is hard to find. Nothing is as healthy as wholesome, fresh food. Fruits, vegetables, and meats from grass-fed animals (eaten sparingly). Unfortunately, most of what we find in supermarkets and that is marketed to us in advertising is full of processed sugars and corn, injected with chemical vitamin supplements to replace a portion of the lost nutritional value, and is generally not all that good for you, causing a myriad of diseases. This rakes in money for both the food and medical industry, but is not good for our health. A better way? Shop at farmer’s markets, grow your own food, don’t snack on junk. Fruit tastes better anyway. I’ve been trying to do this lately and it feels great. I still eat junk on occasion, but usually don’t feel that great afterward.

Still think I’m crazy? Oh well. I’ve decided not to let what the masses are doing dictate how I live my life. It just holds me back, and sucks out a lot of potential, control, and joy.

Persistence pays

Persistence, desire, and refusing to give up is what it takes to achieve a goal. Any goal. No dream is too big if your desire is strong enough and you’re willing to work at it. I’ve experienced this so many times in my life in so many areas that I no longer believe excuses to the contrary. You can do anything!

People are more important than things and experiences

As nice as it feels to have stuff and to do exciting things, nothing feels as good as a loving relationship with someone you care about. Serving and helping others, doing something for someone that they can’t do for themselves, giving of your time and means and being a friend all fill a great need in the human heart. And some relationships can last forever.

Achievement isn’t everything

I am naturally driven to achieve, to create, to perform. Sometimes too much. I have learned that sometimes it’s really okay just to “be” -  to take time to do nothing “productive”, but just sit and listen and enjoy being alive. Life isn’t a race to see how quickly you can reach perfection. Life is a journey to be enjoyed along the way. Growth comes through experience.

Producing is more fun than consuming

Watching TV or movies, reading, listening to music, buying and using products and services, looking at art – all enjoyable. But what’s even more enjoyable is creating things yourself. Making music, writing your thoughts in a journal or a blog, building a business, creating art. What you create not only blesses you, but also those you share it with – double the fun. And it comes from deep inside you, giving you a greater sense of purpose and meaning by contributing in a way that only you can do.

Keep your wife happy

My wife is my best friend and companion and I love her more than I can say. She lifts me up and helps me see my potential and areas I can grow, as well as my strengths. I enjoy being with her and am glad we have so much time together. But I have also found the old saying to be true, “When mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” I’ve learned that if I do whatever it takes to keep her happy, things go much more smoothly. And she returns the favor, too. Everyone benefits. This is a relationship I want to last forever.

Kids need attention and play

Raising kids isn’t easy, and it’s not for the idle. They need lots of love and attention, and they need you to “play” with them. My 6 and 4-year-old ask me every day, multiple times a day if I will play “paper fairies” or “stuffed animals” or something else with them. I admit that sometimes I don’t really want to, and I often don’t really enjoy it when I do. It seems that I forgot how to truly lose myself in this type of play a long time ago, but I’m trying to learn from them how to do it again. I have, however, rekindled my love for hide-and-seek, exploring nature, and creating things. And I love reading to and with my kids. Most of all, though, I enjoy just talking with them, asking them questions and listening to their answers, or answering their questions. Parenting is hard work, but it also brings a lot of joy.

So, these are some of the things I’ve learned so far in my short lifetime. There is a ton more to learn, and I hope to never stop progressing. I’d love to hear what you’ve learned in your life, too, so share your comments below. Have you learned similar things to what I’ve learned, or is your experience completely different?

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Share and Enjoy

Yep. That’s right.

Are we crazy?

Probably.

You’re kidding, right? But… WHY?!!

Isn't Costa Rica Beautiful?

Well, you already know how much we enjoyed our trip to Panama. True, that was more of a vacation-mindset trip than it was a “living in another country” trip, but we still experienced our share of culture, language, and grew closer together as a family.

We have been thinking all year about where we wanted to go next. We knew we wanted to stick with Spanish speaking countries, because we’re not yet satisfied with our current Spanish ability. We looked into Peru, Ecuador, Colombia…

But then we realized – Hey! We can fly almost free ($50/person each way) to Costa Rica, because my step-mom works for Jet Blue. Costa Rica is right next door to Panama, which we loved. It’s pretty well developed (yes, maybe a little touristy), but beautiful. Perfect weather. Laid back culture. Relatively low cost of living. Why not?

Lots of volcanos in Costa Rica - even active ones!

So, we’ve spent quite a bit of time the past few weeks researching about Costa Rica. I’ve posted messages on Costa Rica forums, and have been learning about the different aspects of the country. We probably won’t choose exactly where we’ll live until we get there – we’d rather see the place before committing to a long-term rental agreement, wouldn’t you? But we are narrowing it down to a few small cities and towns.

Finding a place to settle down permanently isn’t necessarily even our goal. We seem to be explorers by nature, and get quickly bored unless we’re challenged with new experiences and places. I’m not saying we’ll never settle down. Who knows, we may someday buy a place we love, and start collecting “stuff” again. But right now, we don’t really care about that. We want to live with less, and be mobile.

Selling Everything. Owning Nothing.

We’ve also realized how attached we can become to our possessions. And how, beyond basic comforts, they don’t really contribute to our happiness. In fact, our possessions can really weigh us down. Think of how much time and maintenance is required to own a house or a car, for example.

Recently, after reading a chapter in “The New Global Student” about families who have made the move abroad, or who sold everything they owned, bought a boat, and sailed with their family for a few years; we realized that a location-independent lifestyle – where we get the chance to explore new cultures as we want to, go where we want to go, when we want to go there, meet new people, and constantly be out of our comfort zones and growing – is a very appealing lifestyle for us. Change and growth can be fun! Especially when compared to stagnating in the sameness of day-to-day life.

So, as crazy as the idea still sounds, we feel great about selling everything we own – yes, even our new car – and getting a one-way ticket to Costa Rica. Well, we won’t be getting rid of everything. We’ll each take a carry-on suitcase with us, and we’ll put some things in storage as well. We’ll probably take a little loss on the car and the house (we just refinanced), but it will be worth it. Also, immigration laws won’t let us get a true one-way ticket, but we’re making it work.

We plan to stay until we feel like leaving, and then go somewhere else new – maybe Argentina, Brazil, India, China, Italy – who knows! But we probably won’t be coming back to the U.S. to live for a while (unless we want to). Of course, we’ll still come back to visit for holidays or other occasions. We may only want to stay in Costa Rica for 3 months, or we may stay for 3 years. Either way, it will be an adventure.

Renters by Choice

We plan on renting furnished apartments or houses wherever we go, so we don’t have any “baggage”. Our expenses could be so much lower, too (in many countries), than they would be in the U.S. so we could end up saving a lot of money – as long as we don’t treat every day like we’re on vacation, but actually try to live normal lives. Well, normal is relative, but… you know.

Of course our income won’t be affected, because I have an on-line business that continues to generate income every month, and I can run it from anywhere. This has been a great blessing to us, and we’re grateful it continues to grow.

However, you may be interested to know that there are many people doing the same thing, who aren’t Internet entrepreneurs. There are other ways to support yourself when living abroad. And in some countries, you can support your family and live like a king for under $1,000/month. (Note: Costa Rica isn’t one of them, although many locals live comfortably on less).

If you’re interested in reading about the experience of others who have moved abroad, check out some of these websites:

• http://locationindependent.com/
• http://jetsetcitizen.com/
• http://www.freepursuits.com/
• http://chrisguillebeau.com/
• http://away-together.com/about/
• http://www.zenhabits.net/
• http://www.nerdynomad.com/

A Change of Culture

We’ve also thought a lot about what we really want to gain from living abroad. One of the main things we want is a change of culture. Not that we expect Costa Rica to be perfect. No place is.

But to us, the suburban American culture we live in seems focused so much on money, competition, and possessions, over people, friendships, and becoming a good person.  Sure, that’s a stereotype and isn’t always the case. And life is what you make it. Also, a healthy dose of money, competition, and possessions can be beneficial. But I think an unhealthy focus on these things, at the expense of people and service, permeates our society, in the media, movies, news, and more, and it’s difficult not to be affected. We want a simpler, kinder, slower, focus-more-on-what-matters kind of life, and we find that easier to live in other places.

As one example, think of the fast-paced and hurried lives many modern families are now engulfed in, with kids enrolled in so many after-school activities, from sports and music to dance and extra classes to parties and playing with friends, not to mention homework. The hope is that we can give our kids every opportunity for growth and development and let them get a taste of everything that’s out there, and achieve their greatest potential.

I think that’s great. But I feel like in doing so, we may be giving up something more valuable. Parents can easily spend a good portion of their day simply driving their kids from one place to another, especially in larger families. And the kids are involved with so many activities, it’s difficult to really focus on any of them. Kids and parents can become over scheduled and stressed out, losing touch with each other and with life itself. Some families may be able to handle this pace, and it could work great for them. But it’s not the lifestyle that works for our family – we’ve tried it to some degree, and didn’t like it. I want to live my life more at a pace where if I pass by the proverbial rose, I won’t hesitate to take time to smell and enjoy and appreciate it.

Disconnecting and Slowing Down

I’m also finding that I, like many others, have a technology addiction that can be consuming. I think it’s great to connect with people through e-mail, and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter (and yes, even the phone if I have to). It’s great to be able to stay in touch with people who are far away, and we plan to continue using these tools. But I find that if I don’t take time to disconnect from everything electronic, for significant portions of the day (or week), I’m not as connected with myself – or with life – as I want to be.

For years, I was a constant productivity machine, always checking my e-mail, trying to make every moment count toward whatever goal I was striving for.  That’s great. It’s brought me some wonderful rewards. But I feel like it’s time to slow down. And I think I have slowed down a lot in the past year or two. I’ve realized that the more I live my life in such a way that I am in touch with how I’m feeling, the more connected I feel not only to myself, but to others, and to God. Do I really want to miss out on these opportunities for greater inner peace, more enriching relationships, and real personal growth, by constantly doing more, knowing more, and having more? I think not.

Like Panama, Costa Rica will be a catalyst for these kinds of changes in our lives.

What about the kids’ education?

As mentioned in previous posts, we plan on homeschooling our children. Their minds are so inquisitive right now, and we plan on exploring their areas of interest as far as they want to take them, in addition to teaching them reading and basic math, in natural ways (see Unschooling). But to be honest, at their ages (almost 6 and 4), I’m more concerned about our kids personal development than I am about their academic education. As they get a little older, maybe we can do something more formal, possibly even enrolling them in some foreign schools. If they want to graduate from college, there are plenty of options to do so internationally (and early), that are much cheaper than attending a U.S. institution.

Of course we’ll try to make sure they have the skills they need to survive in the world, how to think and make decisions, and make a living, etc. We’ll all probably end up being at least trilingual. But we’re more concerned about the kind of people they become. And the kind of people we are. We want to make volunteering a bigger part of our life as well. We’ve already contacted a few orphanages in Costa Rica for starters, and plan to do what we can to help. We’ll see where life takes us.

I still can’t believe you’re doing this!

In some ways, neither can I. It may also surprise you that Jen, not me, has been the biggest instigator of this move. I had several doubts and hesitations about it myself. And I’m not excited about all the preparation work involved in leaving. But we know we want to do it. The rewards are too great to pass up. Our lives have been moving in this direction for years, and we’ve finally realized that this is the next step we need to take. (Although we would never have dreamed of making a jump like this two or three years ago.)

And while we may be a little crazy, we’re also happy. We’re all of a sudden willing to throw out so many of the ideas our culture has taught us about what’s important in life, what’s a necessity to have, and what we’re expected to do. We’re re-inventing our lives, learning from experience, and trying new and exciting things. It’s invigorating, and we feel alive!

We probably won’t be leaving until January, 2010, because there is a lot to do to get ready for the move. We’re going to miss our family and friends here, but in this global age of blogs, e-mail, Facebook, and Skype, I don’t think we’ll seem that far away. And we can always come back. Or you can come visit us! And we hope you will.

If any of you are interested in having our “stuff”, we’d be happy to have you take it off our hands. Everything from furniture, to cds and movies, toys, electronics, decorations, and more, has got to go. But there are some furniture pieces we’d like to keep within the family. We’ve already donated more than half our clothes to charity. The toys are next, so act fast before they’re gone. Just let us know if you’re interested, and you can come take a walk through our house and see if anything strikes your interest.

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In my last post, I listed several reasons we don’t like regular school: homework (busywork), focus on grades over true learning, subject overload (too much at once), bad influences (from both material and people), and politics. In this post, I will go into more detail on the issue of the subject matter taught in schools. I’ll also try to define what a “good” education is and is not – whether I’m accurate or not is debatable. :)

Warning: This post becomes quite a rant about our current education system, so prepare for some negative and critical perspectives on my part.

Problems with schools

Both Jen and I went to public schools, and looking back, are very dissatisfied with the quality of our education. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, because we had some good experiences, especially socially, but we feel that much of school was a waste of our time, and a very inefficient way to learn. I’m not talking only about primary or secondary education, but even and especially up through college, where only one or two classes in our entire curriculum applied directly to what we intended to study!

I think it’s important to be well-rounded, and be able to converse intelligently on a number of subjects. But even with Bachelor’s degrees, Jen and I still feel completely inadequate in many areas, including subjects that we were taught in school, and passed tests on.

The problem is, we memorize facts, pass the test, and then forget what we learned. Very few things we “learn” in school really stick! What is the reason for this? It’s that the knowledge we’re gaining is at that time irrelevant for us. The adage “use it or lose it” applies well here.

How will I ever use this? And Cheating?

I think the question kids often ask in school really is valid and we should pay attention to it – “Why do I have to learn this?” or “How am I ever going to use this in my life?” Even if kids will use what they’re learning “some day”, if they don’t use it now, they’re going to forget and have to re-learn it again when they need it! At least that’s what happened to Jen and me. How about you? How much do you remember from what you learned in school about history, government and politics, math, science, and other subjects?

To further my rant and give an example from my own life, I want to ask – what’s the point of teaching kids algebra or calculus unless they’re going into a career where it’s used? How often do you use even basic algebra in your daily life? I’m a computer programmer, and I don’t even use it!!

Actually, I had to use it once (in over 7 years of programming), and had long forgotten how to solve that type of equation because I never have to. After trying to Google an answer to no avail, I e-mailed the smartest math whiz I know, my sister, who solved the problem for me in a matter of minutes. In school, that would be called “cheating”. That’s ridiculous! It’s utilizing your resources effectively – the very skill that is needed and often lacking to live successfully in the world. Isn’t it sad that schools discourage that? It’s not possible or practical to know it all ourselves. Maybe they teach it because it’s a good exercise for the brain?

In school, I had to take classes clear up past Calculus II, and learned differential equations (and passed my tests without cheating) and a whole bunch of things that I now have no idea what they even are now, even less how to solve a problem. Is that because I’m a poor learner? Maybe math isn’t my thing, or I wasn’t interested enough to keep the information in my brain. But I think the main reason is that I have never had use for such knowledge in my life. Sure, it would be “nice” (I guess) if I still remembered how to do that stuff, but I don’t have a photographic memory, and I’d rather spend my time re-learning things that are actually useful to me today.

How much of what you learned in school has been of use to you in your daily life? (Or even ever in your lifetime?) How much time have you spent learning things that you have forgotten?

I’m not necessarily saying that we shouldn’t learn anything unless it’s important and we’re going to use it right away. But I think too much effort is spent in school trying to get kids to learn specific things to pass specific tests, rather than learning simply for the love of it, or to better ourselves, or be able to contribute more to the world around us. The focus seems so much on facts and so little on application and relevance.

Is School Really That Important?

One of the main reasons people think school is important is so they can get a degree, so they can get a job, so that they can support their family. I have since learned that a job is not required to support a family (there are many ways to make money), and that many people who have been very successful in many areas of life actually dropped out of college, high school, or even elementary school!

Some famous examples of those who didn’t complete formal schooling, or dropped out somewhere, but were still successful include: Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Christopher Columbus, Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Michael Dell (Dell computers), Warren Buffet (Billionaire investor), Ray Kroc (McDonald’s), David Neeleman (Jet Blue), Colonel Harlan Sanders (KFC), Dave Thomas (Wendy’s), Joseph Smith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)), Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Hans Christian Andersen, Robert Frost, John Glenn, Peter Jennings, Frank Lloyd Wright, Orville & Wilbur Wright, Rush Limbaugh, Steven Spielberg, Julie Andrews, Sean Connery, George Gershwin, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and hundreds more. (See http://www.collegedropoutshalloffame.com).

Obviously, success isn’t all about money and career. But the list above shows that school and degrees aren’t required to get a good education, provide for your family, or to be successful in life, however you define that. And think of all the people who would make the list, but who just aren’t famous or rich! Obviously, there are people who drop out who become losers and don’t make anything of themselves. I think they also need something besides school to get them on the right track. They need the kind of education that our current school system can’t provide.

At the risk of offending people (if I haven’t already), I will say that I think that many of the keys to being truly successful in life really aren’t taught well in school – things such as faith and determination, leadership and working well with others (they give you practice but little instruction), financial literacy (including business, real estate, and investing), emotional intelligence or self-understanding, and they completely leave out God (just because a few people don’t believe in him), which is the foundation for everything and almost every society since the world began. How can that possibly be a complete education?

So, as bad as this sounds, I don’t really care if my kids graduate from high school, or go to college. To me, that doesn’t automatically equate a good education. I care more about them becoming good and kind people who live according to righteous principles and values, have a firm grasp of language and a thirst for knowledge, financial skills to survive in the world, the ability to humbly follow and lovingly lead others, who learn from their mistakes and have a passion for pressing forward to be the best they can be.

Everyone is different, and my children may want to go a totally different route, and may really thrive in school (I did, in certain subjects – I loved choir and English, for example!), but I plan on giving them the freedom to explore whatever avenues they desire, while giving them the basic knowledge and skills they need to get along well in the world and in the home.

Well-rounded and contributing citizens

I can appreciate the attempt of schools to try to make well-rounded citizens, but a standardized curriculum in which everyone learns exactly the same things, in my opinion just doesn’t tailor enough to the individual talents, passions, and innate abilities of each person to enable them to fully live up to their potential, in the end, limiting how well they can contribute.

Knowledge is power. And we each have a responsibility to be good citizens of the countries where we live, and contribute to society through our studies and efforts. The more we know, the more we can help. But because each individual is so different, why not focus our knowledge and learning on the areas of our greatest potential to contribute? Maybe we don’t know where we excel, or what we’re interested in. Maybe we’re lost and don’t know what will bring us happiness. Or maybe we don’t care, and would rather just go with what everyone else is doing and follow the established system because it’s the easy thing to do. Maybe the standard system really is the best thing for some people. I really don’t know.

But I believe that schools are doing the best they can. There are a lot of influences that have made school what it is and I really don’t know much about them. I also have no idea what a good solution would be for what I believe to be an increasingly flawed system. I just know I don’t want to put my kids in it. :)

Now, I got a lot of things off my chest in this post. Some were well thought through, and others weren’t. I probably sounded very sure of myself and justified in my pessimism. But I also admit that there is so much that I don’t understand. I really have little experience to base my opinions on, and am always interested in learning how others feel about this subject, whether the same or different. So please leave your comments below. Are there problems with my logic, or do you think I’m on the right track? Am I overdoing it in some ways, becoming too extreme? Am I too idealistic, or do you feel the same way? Leave me your thoughts.

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We’d previously considered home schooling a few times, but had ruled it out because of two main concerns:

Number one, our kids would miss out on great social opportunities, learning to interact with other children, how to deal with diversity, teasing, structure, teamwork, authority, and more.

Number two, we don’t know if we could handle it! It seems overwhelming to prepare and teach so much material to your kids. And could we stand to be together that long? It would be so much easier to send them off for 5-7 hours a day and have a needed break ourselves!

However, after looking at some of the incredible advantages of home schooling, we’ve found our two concerns greatly diminishing. Now, I know that home schooling isn’t for everybody. But I share this list for those interested in how we came to our conclusion.

Advantages of homeschooling

(from our perspective, and in no particular order):

• Allows a lot of flexibility with when and how much the children are taught. This gives us freedom to travel and live anywhere, without making kids’ education suffer (instead, it improves it). They also don’t have to sit through long hours of constant school, but can take more regular and refreshing breaks as needed, increasing retention and reducing emotional stress.
• We can teach more in-depth about subjects that our children are interested in, or that we want to teach them, rather than having little or no control over what is taught.
• We as their parents get to see them learn and grow and progress more, rather than missing out on those moments because they’re in school.
• Teaching will be one on one, exactly at their level and at their pace. We like this much better than teaching a classful of students at different levels with different learning styles.
• We’ll probably learn a lot of interesting things we forgot or never learned as we teach our children.
• We can incorporate our personal values into their education.
• We’re fulfilling our duty as parents to teach our children. Really, it’s the parents’ responsibility to teach their kids, not the government’s or anyone else’s, although others can and do help.
• We’ll get to spend more time with our kids, and hopefully strengthen our relationships and love for one another. We believe there’s no more important way we can be spending our time than with our children.
• Home schooled children statistically outperform other children academically by large margins. (See http://www.homelifeacademy.com/homeschool_stats.php)

Things we don’t like about regular school, that we will be avoiding by doing homeschool:

• Homework – it’s gotten crazy recently, with kids coming home with so much work, it just becomes busywork for the parents. Much of it doesn’t even teach anything useful. With home school, all the learning will be done “in class”.
• Grades – Cramming for tests to get a grade, rather than actually learning the material. Measuring performance against someone else, or a standard that the school board set, rather than the student’s own improvement. I also don’t like the idea of testing on an individual basis – it’s not realistic to life. I think generally it’s more important that students know where to find an answer quickly, than that they have a fact memorized, as helpful as that can be. Obviously it’s good to know a lot, but you can’t know everything, nor is it practical to try.
• Overload – learning 4-7 subjects at once, and having to balance them all at the same time – it’s just too much information to process and retain well. We will be able to control how much of what is taught when, as our kids receive it.
• Bad influences – Swearing, inappropriate or crude books you’re required to read or movies you’re forced to watch, cruel treatment from others, and ideas that conflict with our values. We want our kids to be educated about these influences, but be able to see them with a healthy perspective, and not as if they are of  no consequence, which is the way they are often presented by peers or other influences. We can’t control this completely, as they will experience these influences anyway, but do they really need to be subjected to it all the time, especially while they’re so young and easily influenced?
• Politics that can reduce education quality and take focus away from the students’ learning.

So, what about the concerns I mentioned earlier? How do we plan to overcome those? See below.

Solution to Concern #1: Social aspects

Kids need interaction with other children. My oldest daughter, Emily, is an especially social little girl. She loves making friends and has no fear when it comes to saying ‘hi’. We want to give her every opportunity to grow in this respect.

Fortunately, there are a lot of places other than school where kids get a chance to practice social skills. Besides playing with kids in the neighborhood and at church, we plan on giving our children opportunities to participate in musical theater, sports, dance, choirs, and other classes, where they’ll get to work with other kids not only their age, but of different ages. They also learn a lot of these skills playing with each other.

Solution to Concern #2: Handling it

It is a big responsibility to take on the job of educating your child. Fortunately, we both love to teach. Jen wanted to be an elementary school teacher at one time, but decided against it because she didn’t like the idea of teaching an entire classroom of kids. One on one is more her style. I have teaching in my blood, as both my dad and grandpa are/were teachers, and I taught piano lessons for several years. Teaching is something I’ve always enjoyed, as long as it’s a subject I know enough about.

But we also love to learn, and hope to be able to not only instill in our children this love of learning, but also to teach them how to learn on their own – how to find answers to their questions, and be proactive in their own education. If our kids can teach themselves, this will reduce our burden. We also plan on utilizing lots of outside resources, books, computer programs, and ideas from others. On occasion, we may even bring in experts on a particular subject, or take the kids to them, so they can learn something different, or experience a different teaching style. Emily is really showing an aptitude for art, so we may find her an art instructor, for example.

Jen and I will also continue taking regular dates and time away from the kids. We have really enjoyed the 3-hour dates we’ve had twice a week while the girls have been in preschool, and we’d like to keep up something similar. We’ve thought about getting a nanny to watch the girls for a few hours a week while we get some time away during the day.

Will it work?

Now, since we haven’t yet actually tried homeschooling, we really don’t know all that we’re up against. Fortunately, both our kids are excited to have Mommy and Daddy as their teacher. Emily is excited to become a better reader, and they both have such inquisitive minds right now, that it doesn’t seem like it will be too much of a challenge at this stage. One of the biggest challenges to begin with, I think, will be their short attention spans. But we can take breaks as needed, and their attention should grow with time. It may also take a while to get into a routine of school that we’re all comfortable with, but this will pass.

We’d like to have a room of our house specially designated as the “Learning Room”, where most of this schooling will take place. Obviously this room will include desks, books, arts and crafts, computers, musical equipment, toys, and more. We’d also like some playground equipment and a place for them to run around and play to get their energy out as well.

The more we think about homeschooling, and move in that direction, the better we feel about it. Maybe we’ll end up hating it, and change our minds down the road. But right now, it seems like the best thing for our family.

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