On Children's Education: Mission, Passion, Knowledge

Mission—this word was awakened in me a bit at the end of summer 2020. This stemmed from attending an all-day missionary training course spanning four Saturdays. It was an introductory course on Christian missions.

In early September, I began reading Excellent Sheep. About a year ago, my kids’ principal, Ms. C, highly recommended it at a parent meeting. After buying the book, it sat on the shelf for quite a while (adult attention spans really are scattered 😄). When I picked it up again, I noticed the pages had yellowed.

The author, William Deresiewicz, spent 24 years among the Ivy League schools: he did undergrad and a PhD at Columbia, served for five years as a graduate advisor, and then taught for ten years at Yale. With such a background, I think his observations on American higher education should be quite balanced.

Like some friends around me, we plan to have our kids study in the U.S. in the future (if they are capable). This idea isn’t because we understand American universities well but because of a vague impression. Compared to China, American education seems superior. If there’s a chance and the resources, studying abroad generally isn’t a bad choice.

But according to the author, American higher education (especially at elite schools) has many issues.

In prestigious schools like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, students undergo intense pressure from the moment they enter as undergraduates until they graduate and get jobs. Under this high-pressure competition, their development in academics, character, interests, and social skills becomes extremely utilitarian and superficial. For instance, spending just a day or two on a professional activity qualifies them to write “experienced in this field” on their resumes. Or, for social prestige, they read only the intro and conclusion of books and their reviews.

These top-tier students, elites among elites, have come to see competition and pursuit as a normal life state. It seems like only by constantly crushing others in competition and proving themselves can these top-ranked students/graduates gain a sense of security. They don’t hesitate to sacrifice health, friendships, love, personal exploration, interests, and leisure activities for the sake of competition.

The societal atmosphere and competitive environment push elite students into a rushing current, and unfortunately, many don’t have time to ask: why embark on this journey in the first place? Why keep pushing forward? They don’t know what their passion is. And even if they do, they prefer to bury it because “smart people know it’s not the optimal choice.” Fewer and fewer pursue their passion.

This neglect of inner enthusiasm in favor of worldly success is evident when elites choose their majors and careers. “Astute” individuals tend toward “lucrative industries” like finance and consulting. Meanwhile, fields like pastorate, writing, teaching, archaeology, and even foundational scientific research are often overlooked. There’s nothing wrong with finance or consulting, but when all young people head in that direction, it’s worth reflecting on.

By their thirties or forties, although most are successful by worldly standards, elites often face a loss of sense of value. Many start questioning in midlife: why choose this major, direction, lifestyle? Where’s the value in their work? Were their initial choices right?

I believe contemplating “value and direction” in midlife isn’t too late nor wrong. However, finding one’s mission, value, and passion earlier is better, isn’t it? Ideally, universities should help students discover and explore these things. But now, even at the world’s leading schools, higher education has lost its meaning. Universities have almost become vocational schools driven by worldly values.

Of course, the author acknowledges positive changes. In recent years, U.S. colleges have started recognizing these issues, such as professors prioritizing research over teaching, and the situation is gradually improving.

There will always be elite schools globally, but no perfect one. While perfect universities don’t exist, we shouldn’t ignore imperfections in higher education. These issues and downsides are obvious, widely discussed, yet few can break free from their grip. Why?

In my view, it’s a lack of faith.

Simply put, education has several layers—from superficial to profound: knowledge, passion, mission. Let’s start with the core—mission.

Mission

For me, talking about “mission” is tough because it carries a strong Christian connotation.

The Chinese definition of mission fits well: “A task received and to be completed by an emissary; a responsibility; someone doing a task by mandate.” As seen in the Zuo Zhuan: “To be disregarded in the assembly, to not heed the mission, to be humiliated by the great state…”

Mission isn’t self-assigned. It’s a task, a responsibility, received from elsewhere, mandated. People generally receive tasks only from something higher, more correct, more perfect than themselves.

Mission isn’t about fulfilling one’s own desires or ideas but about achieving the will and desire of something higher and more complete.

Who is higher, more correct, and more perfect than humans? Only God.

At 22, I graduated and worked for 15 years. By my mid-thirties, I genuinely felt the “midlife value void” mentioned in Excellent Sheep. Often, I sensed emptiness, seeking meaning, repeatedly asking myself, “What’s my direction? What’s worth my total commitment?” Sadly, I couldn’t find answers. Lately, I’ve slightly grasped why finding a mission eluded me.

Because I kept looking for a mission within myself, trying to “self-direct” and bestow meaning and value upon myself, attempting to achieve my desires and private motives. So, a self-directed, self-crowned mission couldn’t withstand the test of time, nor convince even myself, let alone drive my entire life forward.

As a Christian, for mission, you must return to faith, to contemplate God’s will, to receive the mission bestowed upon each person by God.

What is God’s will? The entire Bible tells us: God’s redemption of humanity and the restoration of God’s kingdom. A Christian’s mission is to accomplish God’s will. Every person, in different eras and ethnicities, has unique talents, gifts, and passions. God didn’t specify detailed tasks for those bearing a mission but provided a “compass” clarifying the mission’s direction.

Through the August “Kingdom Course,” I gained a renewed understanding of mission. For children’s education, especially in faith-based schools and family settings, guiding them to recognize and take on their mission, enabling them to find lifelong value early, is vital and precious. Rather than having them continue wandering and lost well into midlife, overwhelmed by regret and powerlessness.

Passion

Fulfilling a mission given from “above” requires a means. More straightforwardly, it requires a professional skill. One’s specialty shouldn’t be chosen arbitrarily or trend-driven but as a means to accomplish their mission, based on individual interests and personality. It’s where a person’s passion lies. A person’s passion for something is evident, even in a child.

There are myriad talents in the world, and every person’s talents are for loving and helping others, achieving God’s will. Talents vary in size, but all are given according to the measure of each person’s faith (Romans 12:3). Thus, compared to the term “specialty/talent” from a human perspective, within Christian faith, “gift” is more fitting. A gift is the ability endowed by God.

Which should help a child discover their gift (specialty) more, family and school, or parents and teachers? I believe it has to be parents. Good parents better understand their child’s personality and interests and can effectively teach and impact them about “gifts” in daily family life.

From my growth experience, choosing art in middle school was my father’s choice (partly observing my childhood love for drawing), mainly for utilitarian reasons, as art specialties offered extra points on exams. Choosing “design” as a college major had an element of chance, as I didn’t know much about design back then. However, I was fortunate to have a passion for both art and design.

Many friends, including candidates I’ve spoken to at work, aren’t as lucky. Many aren’t passionate about their professions and aren’t clear about what excites them.

Knowledge

If we consider “a lifetime” as a timeframe, the knowledge one acquires during school education seems less critical. There’s a joke that people’s peak of erudition is at the college entrance exam (when knowledge is the most comprehensive and grasped). After that, entering college and work, much knowledge like physics, math, biology, geography is forgotten. Yet losing this doesn’t hinder normal life or work. (Of course, what remains might not be the knowledge itself but thinking skills.)

Moreover, compared to knowledge itself, the ability and methods to acquire knowledge are more important. “Active learning” refers to having a good method and ability to learn. “Active application” is practice, which is indispensable in knowledge aspects.

Conclusion

Education for children is a marathon, a matter of lasting value. Discovering direction, activating motivation, is much more crucial than mere knowledge accumulation. Mission brings a sense of direction, while a child’s compatible specialty/skill ignites their passion and motivation.

I’d go as far as to say, in a child’s education, focusing excessively on the short-term, and you’re bound to fail.