Education Through Daily Life Experiences
Daily life experiences provide valuable informal schooling for each of us throughout life, and this affects all that we do and ultimately become.
By Leland E Pulley
Too often we think of education as it relates to schools or formal schooling. Everyone gets some type of formal schooling and this is important. But there are so many things to learn in life that are not covered adequately or not covered at all in the classroom. These things are learned outside the classroom through informal schooling. Through the daily life experiences of informal schooling, every individual continually learns throughout life.
In the home at a young age, a child learns to walk and talk and feed himself. Over time he can learn to set the table for dinner, do dishes, vacuum the floors, take out the garbage, etc. What about keeping a clean bedroom which children should do without mom or dad picking up after them. There are lots of ways a child can help with yard work. We as parents can teach them how to pull weeds, water the lawn, and with older children to mow the lawn. These are simple duties that should be taught to children. This type of learning lets them know what “clean” means or “neat’ means. They learn what responsibility means, as well as regularity and quality control. It tells them that no one is going to do what they should do for themselves. Life is not free, even in their own homes. Everyone can do something to contribute and be part of a team effort which in this case is the family unit.
Personal growth also comes through activities like learning to ride a bicycle or how to swim. Piano lessons begin in childhood, as well as dance lessons. In the fourth grade I got my first tool kit. This began the accumulation of more tools, which have been with me and utilized ever since then.
As a child becomes a teenager, the list of things that he or she is learning and utilizing has increased. Now more responsibility should be given to them. They should do schoolwork willing and with less help from parents. They can learn to drive a car. Now they can run errands for parents. What about babysitting younger siblings. A larger variety of activities implies more ways that learning takes place. There should be a higher standard of performance expected of someone aged 15 than someone aged 8.
Young people should have some activities on their own without direct parental involvement. A few examples are being a player on a sport team, learning to play a musical instrument, pursuing a hobby, or being a volunteer. In each of these there is learning and skill development, plus how to interact in appropriate ways with others.
Turning to my life, here are examples of informal schooling.
I learned to hunt with my first shotgun at age 12.
At age eleven I started a chemistry set and increased it in size and scope through age 13.
At age 14, we moved from town to an asparagus farm. I learned about farming and various tasks associated with it like driving the tractor and plowing the fields. Even tasks like irrigation take skill. I took care of farm animals.
With my father we did concrete work. In building a new garage, machine shed, and shop, I learned to do roofing, siding, electrical wiring, painting, and insulation.
I learned to do gardening.
I like some other teenagers cut asparagus from mid-April through the end of June. Every day of the week, you would start at 4:30 am and end at about 8 am. I did this for 5 years or the 8th through 12th grades. This was part of the training for developing a work ethic.
As adults we have a greater variety of potential learning activities and more opportunities to pursue them than children and teenagers. We can get married. Compare what a couple with one year of marriage says compared to that same couple 20 years later. Of course, there has been learning and developing and maturing. The same is true for parenting. Being the parents of two preschoolers is one thing but handling them as two older teenagers is quite another. The same thing is true for the first time home buyer and someone who has owned a few homes during the last 40 years. Think about jobs and employment. Someone right out of college may think that he or she knows a lot. Ask that same person 20 or 30 years later about their type of work or profession and they will admit that they have learned a lot over the years. Yes, everyone learns and grows and develops in different endeavors.
As an adult, think of the many types of learning you have experienced outside the classroom via informal schooling. If I were to list my learning experiences, it would take several pages. But these few examples should illustrate how important informal schooling is for everyone. Help yourself and your family members to have as much growth as possible through informal schooling.
The challenge is to engage with life. Always take care of yourself over the years. Establish good relationships with all types of individuals of various backgrounds. Get involved in various activities, endeavors, and projects. Different experiences will broaden you out, so you are a more well-rounded person. You will blend in with others easier and support group efforts. You will be able to cope better with a greater variety of challenges.
Over time, you will see in your life what my wife and I have seen over the last several decades. Learning has been occurring every year. We would do some things differently now, but the past is now gone. All we can do is utilize our daily life experiences as informal schooling and strive to live the best we can in the future. May you strive to do the same thing. To your success in achieving this.
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