The already unbelievable, alarming, and horrifying crimes committed by juveniles need to scare us into action.
We must pay attention to instilling in all children the fundamental character traits of honesty, compassion, courage, perseverance and kindness. The absence of these traits allows humans to behave like animals.
No matter how great the academic achievement of a child or what educational efforts teachers make, children who grow to adulthood without developing a conscience, who become only “grown larger”, but not grown up, who believe that being the biggest brings power and that getting even makes sense, become dangerous teens and adults.
Kids, in and out of school, need repeated opportunities to hear stories of great men and women who acted bravely, to read about compassionate, kind and caring persons, to practice perseverance in working out, working through, working on and working with. They must witness in their daily lives, good, honest, kind, loving examples of adult behavior.
The public school system is, by far, the largest and most capable place for this education to take place, and if we are to stop the further unraveling of our social fabric, we must start now, this month, this day.
The brightest minds, turned to self-seeking, revenge, selfish satisfaction and even to sadism, only become more capable of inflicting great pain. It no longer can matter what children learn or do not learn at home; the common denominator of what we consider, as a society, desirable traits for functioning and caring. Compassionate, courageous adults must be taught that in school.
Literature has always provided rich and exciting stories of courageous heroes who, through assorted challenges, overcome unimaginable odds. Even nursery tales such as “The Three Little Pigs” tell us of the need for wise planning and of devising strategies to overcome adversity. The tale of David and Goliath speaks to might not always making right and teaches us that skill and thinking, not muscles, can overcome dangerous foes.
Remember McGuffey’s Readers? Full of great stories, poems, songs, essays, and plays, these books developed character while stirring young hearts to courage, young minds to adventure, young dreamers to expand horizons while teaching reading, writing, geography, language, and other school subjects. Can the substitution of “Green Dilly Dilly” or the “Spot and Jane” series have really been a better choice? Were Spot’s antics more exciting than the wooden horse of Try? “See Spot” could easily read, “See the big horse. Look. Look. Look.” I promise you there’s food for thought here.
Character and virtue are all that stand between man and the animals. Without constant, early exposure in school to enriching literature that teaches compassion, courage, honesty, and kindness, and good role models along with language arts, reading, science, and math, we will continue building more and more pens for humans who behave as animals.
Darby Kethan has a master's degree in child development, and has experience as a social worker, educator of young children, educational consultant, and as a professional trainer for a national educational foundation providing professional development to teachers. Visit her website at darbykethan.com.
