Teacher Tom: The Freedom to Be That Change
The Freedom to Be That Change
Most of us want to raise children who are ethical and caring. Indeed, when surveyed 96 percent of us say that this is a "very important, if not essential" parenting goal. I've not seen the numbers for teachers, but I would assume that a super majority of us feel likewise. If nothing else, we want the future to be populated with adults of character and we believe it begins with us, the adults responsible for the rearing and education of children.
Unfortunately, to the degree that we are responsible for this laudable result, a full 80 percent of youth surveyed say that they are more concerned with "achievement" or "happiness" than with caring for others. Not only that, but eight in 10 also say that their parents and teachers feel the same way. And to put the cherry on this ugly cake, teachers, by the same percentage, perceive that the parents of their students value achievement over moral character. In other words, we are, as parents and educators, quite consistently sending our children a message we don't want to be sending.
Ironically, most research also shows that lack of caring for others leads to humans being less successful and less happy.
We are living in a time in which one if five children are suffering from a diagnosable mental illness. Our schools have become increasingly academic, where our children are being CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: The Freedom to Be That Change