The husband and wife team of Geoff and Janet Benge has written literally dozens of biographies for children in the past decade. The Benge biographies are written at probably age 9 to 11 reading level. Some of their books are about Christian heroes, others about Heroes of History.
I love this series. The Benges have written books about some people I had previously never heard of, and their stories are inspirational. I have been discerning in when I let our kids read certain books, because while the Benges aren't too explicit, the truth is that some of the people they write about experienced VERY hard things. So, for example, I didn't let our fluent 7 year olds read about Corrie Ten Boom. Even writing carefully, the Holocaust is a challenging theme.
In general, I strongly prefer the Christian Hero ones, but this week I read a book that really is both -- a biography of famed neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
This one is particularly interesting in that Carson is still very much alive and kicking. He is only 19 years older than me and has made forays into the political arena after retiring from neurosurgery.
So...Ben Carson. Born in inner city Detroit. Father was a low level criminal and a bigamist. Carson's mother was in a difficult family situation as a young person, and wanted to get out so she married Carson's father when he was 27 and she was...13. I'm serious, she was 13.
At some point, Carson's mother realized his father had another family on the side, and she had the courage to put her foot down and send him away. From then on, she raised her 2 sons alone.
Honestly, there is nothing about Carson's early life that is very encouraging. His mother was illiterate and working multiple low wage jobs. His father was out of the picture. They were living in a difficult environment and the schools weren't good. But thanks to the Lord's power, and the strength of his mother's love and diligence and encouragement, Carson went on to become a world renowned neurosurgeon who is most famous for successfully separating twins conjoined at the head. He is also a strong Christian and has managed to keep his head straight, in spite of many honors and accolades.
I won't spoil the whole story, but I did want to philosophize a bit about the role of education in Carson's life.
For Carson, education was his ticket to freedom and a valuable life. He is obviously very intelligent, though that wasn't obvious when he was young -- he did horribly in school for several years, and it took those years to discover that he couldn't see! The poor kid didn't know that the world isn't supposed to be a fuzzy blur and when a vision test showed he needed glasses, and he got them, his academic performance improved immensely.
Ok, so...academics. His mother was, as I mentioned, illiterate. But she was determined her boys were going to live a better life and she pushed them hard academically. And I applaud that.
But, I admit that as a homeschooling mother, I am not a big fan of devoting oneself to academics over everything else. I'm praying for wisdom on this, since I am the primary teacher of our children. My perception is that our culture worships academics, to the point that sometimes family relationships and other relationships go by the wayside.
Kevin and I both are pretty bright cookies. We both got PhD's in engineering. We both find math and science come relatively easily.
When I was a teen and 20 something, academics were my one big area of success. I worked very very hard at school. I studied and thought and pondered and toiled. And I was very successful. But I wasn't great at interacting with other people and I almost always put my academic work over my relationships.
I was out of balance. The academics had their place and were important, but I'll say honestly that I "over studied". It would have been better SOMETIMES for me to set the books aside and spend time with family and friends. I wasn't a total hermit, but I can look back now and see that a more well rounded life would have been healthier for me.
Looking at my own kids, I've got some that are very diligent academically, and others that love to procrastinate. I am seeking God's wisdom in encouraging them to be hard working in every area of life -- for some, relationships come easily and academics are not too exciting -- for others, diligence with academics is easy, but getting along well with others is more difficult.
I just read an article about a young man who was accepted to all 8 Ivy League colleges. I was pleased to read that he applied to all because he wasn't sure he could get into ANY. He wasn't just trying to rack up acceptances. The article went on and on about how he was an amazing student, and athlete, and volunteered at the hospital, and played 3 instruments. The colleges obviously loved him!
But...in all that, does he spend any time with his FAMILY? His parents are pushing him hard and they pushed him to be an academic superstar. I probably sound critical and I don't mean to be. I'm sure his parents love him very much and want what is best for him. But I do STRONGLY question the idea that the "best life" for a teen is for him to be out of the house ALL the time except when he is toiling away at homework. As a culture, we separate. So many of our children and teens spend almost no quality or quantity time with parents and siblings. I don't think that is good.
So as Naomi steps into high school next year, I'm thinking and praying about the role of academics in HER life. Most of all, I want her (and all the children) to do God's will. If He wants any of our kids to be renowned neurosurgeons, that child will need to hit the books hard. But...I'm not focused on our kids being lawyers or doctors or engineers. If that is where God wants them, than that is where they should be. But if He wants plumbers and book editors and child care providers, I'm happy about that too.
May we have wisdom to walk the road the LORD has for us.
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