My Educational Philosophy

The more I learn and do, the more my educational philosophy develops.  Over the last year or so I have come to understand the importance of having such a philosophy.  It's like a compass on stormy days (weeks.  months.).  Knowing the whats and whys of how you got to this place (living and learning with your kids every day) can help you to see where you want to go, and if maybe you've gone a little off course.
So far, my philosophy looks a little like this:

• God created us all as unique individuals with our own bents and interests.  He has a plan for each of us, including my children.  I don't know what that plan is.  It's my job to help them realize this plan by following their interests and needs, and preparing them for their lives away from our home.
• Character development is the most important thing my kids can and should learn.  If they are the smartest people on the block but have no love, compassion, generosity, integrity, etc. then I have failed miserably.
• Life skills are just as, and maybe more important than, most academic knowledge.  If they can pass every test in college but can't wash their own laundry or cook themselves a healthy meal, I have failed miserably.
• Teaching someone HOW to learn is vital.  Telling them WHAT to learn is not.  We don't stop learning when we turn 18, or when we graduate from college.  If they have the skills required to get to the information, these kids can continue their own education for the rest of their lives; they can teach themselves anything they want to learn.  Anything.  (Isn't that powerful?!?!)
• Real learning happens when the learner is ready and interested, not when I say it's time to learn something.  If my kid wants to learn to write in cursive in 1st grade, who am I to tell her she's not allowed to do that until 3rd grade????
• Learning is not necessarily linear.  If my kid wants to learn about fractions or multiplication before he has subtraction down pat, now is the time to teach him about fractions or multiplication. 
• I believe that in an effort to find my kids needs and interests, it is important to expose them to a variety of ideas and experiences, even if they are not necessarily something I would like to do. (Of course parental guidance and protection are always at play here.)
• I do not believe that giving grades and gold stars encourage real learning, but competition and ugliness.  Giving gold stars freely is fun though!
• The 3 Rs are the foundation for all future learning for the rest of our lives and these are the subjects that must be addressed most seriously.  All others, especially during these early years, can be touched on based on interest and need.
• Learning through literature is better than through textbooks.  The key to this is *quality* literature, especially classics.  I firmly believe that what we read, especially as young people, helps to mold and form us.  While we have some "twaddle" books for our kids, I don't allow them to read plain old junk.
• Hands on/real-life activities are better than second hand experiences.
• Although I may love and want to do crafts and activities pertaining to what we are reading, forcing my kids to do so if they don't want to will only kill their love of learning.  Sometimes it's okay to just read and enjoy a good book.  And sometimes if I just do the activities on my own, they will want to come along beside me and join in.

This is what I have so far; my compass.  I'm not quite on track with my approach, but now that I have it in writing I will be better able to steer us in that direction.