An educational essay by Professor Kim Hyeong-seok, a lifelong educator.

Education is love
Love brings wisdom

This book, which contains the lifelong reflections and educational experiences of Professor Kim Hyung-seok, a philosopher and educator, is a special message to today's generation of parents and teachers, based on the wisdom of a century of living.
In the preface, the author expresses his firm belief that “education with love changes life and society,” and emphasizes that what children need most for growing up happy and healthy is not knowledge or competition, but rather “love.”

The book covers the entire process of education, from fetal and childhood to adolescence.
He says that it is more important to foster honesty, self-reliance, and the ability to live together than simply academic achievement.
Parents and teachers should let go of excessive greed and impatience and patiently help children grow on their own.
It also reminds us that small praise and positive attitudes from teachers and parents can be a crucial force in children's lifelong growth.

This book is divided into five chapters.
Chapter 1, titled “Growth is not about speed, but direction,” emphasizes that natural growth is the best education.
Chapter 2 explores the path to education that fosters individuality and talent, and Chapter 3 presents specific methods necessary for the period when true learning begins.
Chapter 4 then addresses the value of education, which goes beyond knowledge to impart life wisdom, and the final chapter, Chapter 5, proposes the essence of education that parents, teachers, and society must consider together to complete the 100-mile journey of life.

In particular, the author draws on his extensive field experience and real-world examples to critically examine past educational policies and social trends, while also providing concrete guidelines that parents and teachers can implement in their daily lives.
The warm anecdotes mixed with philosophical thoughts give readers deep empathy and the courage to take action.
This book will serve as a guide for parents who have lost track of their children's education amidst fierce competition, teachers struggling in the educational field, and young people preparing for the future generation.

Animals grow rapidly and then stop growing.
Because it is an instinctive growth.
However, humans grow slowly and continue to develop over a long period of time.
Because intelligence grows steadily.
What I am concerned about is demanding or forcing overly artificial education on infants and toddlers.
After humans develop intelligence and the ability to judge, they learn, realize, and grow on their own.
At this time, effort is required and a certain degree of friendly competition becomes necessary.
However, we must not forget that when we are young, natural growth, not forced growth, is most important.

--- p.19

In education that transcends the limitations of traditional education methods that involve passively following parents or teachers, the key is to appropriately adjust the timing of accompanying and guiding children and the timing of allowing them to take the lead on their own.
Because we can't always be together, and giving the child the initiative too early is unwise and can lead to uneducational results.

--- p.26

The poultry industry uses various scientific methods to produce a large number of eggs in a short period of time.
Chickens are kept in cramped spaces to prevent them from getting much exercise, and lights are kept on day and night to ensure they eat and lay eggs 24 hours a day.
Feed is also technically mixed and various methods are used to increase fattening and egg production.
After inducing maximum spawning in a short period of time, the fish are sold for meat consumption.
As a result, chickens do not live out their full lives and are reduced to mere tools for egg production.
If the laying ability declines, simply replace it with another chicken.
I am also concerned that we may be overly focused on artificial education, turning children into mere instruments for their parents' desires.
There are too many mothers who make that unfortunate mistake.

--- p.36

When I was teaching in middle and high schools, there was a student with outstanding talent.
The child's dream was to become a baseball player, but his parents did not allow him to play baseball because of his poor academic performance.
Moreover, since his father was an officer in the police department, he was very strict.
I promised the student that if his GPA rose by just 10 points, I would let him join the baseball team, and if his GPA rose to 80, I would help him become a player.
The student originally had no interest in academics and his friends' grades were not very good, but he studied hard with a desire to play baseball and eventually became a model student who excelled in both academics and baseball.
This is an example showing that positive evaluations in one area can stimulate growth in other areas.
If the student had only been constantly criticized negatively, he might have turned into a problem child.
Because actually one of his friends ended up like that.

--- pp.38~39

As the word 'talent' suggests, people must receive good education to grow into useful materials.
A crooked tree cannot be used as lumber because it grows crooked.
A tree does not bend after it has grown.
If it starts to bend during the growth process, it will grow into a large tree.
The same goes for people.
Personality bending does not occur after becoming a fully grown adult, but rather during the growth period.
If your personality and temperament become crooked when you grow up, it is difficult to correct them when you get older.
So, when you're young, honesty is the best education.
Dishonest acts, including lying, must not be tolerated.

--- p.39

Knowledge and grades are just a means to complete growth.
There are many other values ​​that are equally precious.
There is so much we as adults can do to help our children grow into decent human beings who can live happily and independently.
The most important thing is to realize that the subject of learning is the child and that the purpose of education is not to follow the parents' desires, but to realize the children's dreams and hopes.
They say education is a hundred-year plan.
Education should be designed to look far ahead for students and children, and a social atmosphere should be created that allows them to make a variety of choices.
Rather than aligning children's futures with their parents' wrong desires, we need to support children's individuality and future.
--- pp.55~56

I am not against gifted education.
However, we should not fall into gifted education without criticism.
It is enough to support children to develop their innate talents without difficulty and to enable them to demonstrate their talents.
It is wrong to bury one's talents and individuality.
And all you have to do is guide them so that they can develop their innate abilities and individuality until later in life.
If the result goes beyond the line of mediocrity, it becomes genius.
Human beings are not sculptures created by teachers or parents.
All you have to do is help him create his own genius sculpture.

--- p.65

In standardized education, not only land animals such as rabbits, turtles, tigers, deer, and foxes, but also flying animals are raced together and the evaluation is made to see which animal is the fastest.
Of course, acquiring knowledge and growing intellectually can be the foundation of education and a compulsory step in national education.
However, that doesn't mean that one path is the whole of education and growth.
Rabbits should race with other rabbits, and turtles should compete with other turtles.
Other animals also have their own special skills.
The desire for recognition and self-promotion that young students have is actually an expectation of receiving love and attention.
Every child deserves loving attention.
Showing off is an expression of oneself.
I want to reveal the meaning of life, and in a broader sense, I want to show the meaning of existence.
Education that nips the bud is not education.
If teachers and parents can positively embrace that sprout and support it by linking it to talent and individuality, every child can pave the way to happiness and success.
That is true education.

--- pp.102~103