My son has been receiving materials from universities interested in him attending their schools. Swarthmore College, located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, sent a small booklet of a Keynote Address given to an audience of 8th, 9th, and 10th graders and their parents. The address was held at a Youth Odyssey Series sponsored by the Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth. In it, the benefits of pursuing a liberal arts degree are discussed.
Although my boys both have scientific minds, and are hoping to become engineers, I like the gist of this address: pursue an education for the sake of learning how to learn, and how to enjoy learning. “And the experience of learning joyfully becomes ingrained in the person so that learning becomes a habit that not only continues but deepens through life, whatever career we choose to be in.”
My hope is that every child has that chance.