December 9, 2010. As a home schooling parent, I spend a certain part of my free time considering the purpose of education. Admitted, I am not a scientist in the art of motivating a child to learn. But, I am committed (rather than involved) to ensuring my children are adequately educated. So, the question is what is education? We've all heard about the Three-Rs: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. I submit there is a Fourth R in education, probably a fifth, even a six. We can probably string educational Rs in ad nausium succession. This would make pirates very happy, as they are very familiar with Arrrrr. It's very educational to be a pirate.

What is the Fourth-R? Reality, which is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or may be thought to be. In its widest definition, reality includes everything that is and has being, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible. Yes, I stole that definition from Wikipedia, the source of all true knowledge.

I sort of like Philip Dick's definition, "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." However, that brings into dispute a wide range of things which wars have been fought over. For example, is there a God and what is God's nature? In my opinion, bolstered by the U.S. Constitution's First and Tenth Amendments, is the purview of the parent.

A parent's role in education is to provide their children with a coherent worldview that is close to reality, and ensure they have the means to view contrary worldviews appropriately. I can't say without bias, because there is inherent bias in each of us. I say close to reality because none of us really know what reality is. We just think we know what it is, based on our own bias. I learned a good portion of my worldview from my parents, and intend on inculcating my children accordingly.

Reality includes ensuring the child is aware of the expectations levied on him because of his various roles. As a child, he is expected to listen to his parents, do some chores around the house, etc. As a student, he is expected to complete his coursework within a given timeframe. As an employee/employer or teammate, he is expected to work within the group to promote the business while not neglecting his own self-interest and that of his family. As a parent, that he is to inculcate his children in reality. This includes ensuring the child can handle the realities of pressure. The child must learn to balance these conflicting roles in a way that does not neglect his responsibilities.

The Fifth-R, if there is such, is Relationships. That is, helping a child know how they work within the overall framework of society. This involves proper respect for those deserving respect: our elder citizens, authority, etc. This involves helping the child understand what healthy relationships are, between adults, between children and adults, and between children. Knowing that they should care for those who are not cared for by society. Historically that was the widow, the orphan and the foreigner.

Here we see there's a Sixth-R: Responsibility. See what I mean by the enumerated educational Rs? A child must learn to be responsible. This means to know when he is responsible for something—and to wear that responsibility. This means he needs to know when he is not responsible—and to not take responsibility where he is not. It also means knowing that with responsibility there should be commensurate authority. (We could add Roles, Religion, etc. The English language is full of important nouns starting with R. Again, pirates are happy.)

Which brings me full circle with my introduction. Who's responsibility is education? The U.S. Constitution does not bestow authority or responsibility on Congress. The Tenth Amendment therefore rests that responsibility on the States or the Individual.

When the U.S. Constitution was written, whose responsibility was it to educate children? The States?

The most preliminary form of public education [in North America] was in existence in the 1600s in the New England colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. The overriding belief on educating the children was more due to religious reasons and was easy to implement, as the only groups in existence were the Puritans and the Congregationalists. However, the influx of people from many countries and belonging to different faiths led to a weakening of the concept. People refused to learn only in English and opposed the clergy imposing their religious views through public education. By the middle of the eighteenth century, private schooling had become the norm.¹ 

Although 7 of 14 states in 1791 had education in their constitutions, “Until the 1840s the education system was highly localized and available only to wealthy people. . . . Massachusetts passed the first compulsory school attendance laws in 1852 . . .”²

So, it may be argued either way. However, I submit the individual bears the responsibility to learn: to have literacy, numeracy, and the ability to cope with the realities, relationships and responsibilities bestowed on us. Children, however, lack certain cognitive abilities.

A trust is a legal term for an arrangement in which property is managed by one person or entity for the benefit of another. God entrusts a parent to manage the affairs of the child for that child's benefit until such time as the child is able to manage his own affairs. For those who don't believe in God (see reality, above), that the child is born to a person and not the state should suffice. Legally that is eighteen, twenty-one or twenty-six depending on whether you look at voting, drinking or health insurance. As the trustee, the parent bears the responsibility to ensure the child is educated—which is to say to ensure the child has literacy, numeracy and the capacity to handle the responsibilities of relationships and reality. Just ask John Locke, who aptly defined the premise of self-government.