Nurturing an interest and skillset is an element of a proper education
Developing a philosophy of education--bit by bit, or post by post
Self-sufficiency and human flourishing is the end goal of a proper education. To be self-sufficient and flourish in adulthood, a child, during their school-age years, must discover their unique interests and skills and spend time developing them.
One’s interest and unique set of skills become apparent in childhood and the child either continues to hone in on them, helping them to mature into a hobby or career, or they hold a special place in an adult’s memory as a childhood love, left in the past without pursuit in adulthood. The latter is a mistake. Thus, students must be:
Given opportunities to develop life skills and pursue their interests, such as sewing, engineering, gardening, computer science, etc. These pursuits can certainly be undertaken outside of school, and other institutions, as well as within the home, are likely better at providing these opportunities, but if we are going to hold students hostage for 7-8 hours a day, we should at least give them opportunities to figure out what they are good at and like doing.
Everyone has an inborn disposition that determines their personality and what gifts they possess.