My heart is broken.

My heart is heavy.

These past two weeks, children have reported back to school. I teach a daily Bible Study at my house and most evenings I get to hear how the children spent the day and how school was like for them.

I enjoy teaching these children God’s Word.

However, how their day’s are turning out is of great concern to me. And I see the trend replicated all around me.

It would seem that a majority of parents and teachers have made it their life long mission to break children and conform them to some set standards all in the name of education.

What is the purpose of education?

On this Martin Luther King Day, let us glean some wisdom from him:

And dare I add, please please let the children have fun while at it.

The idea of separating fun from the learning process is one that is most misguided and quite costly in the end.

• One child shared: The math teacher hit my fingers (said fingers looked beaten) because I am slow in class
• Another child shared: I do not like school anymore. Teacher said they have to be tough on us to toughen us for the next level of learning (you don’t even want to know what tough is translating to)

And when I listen to these precious children, I can see the pain in their eyes. I can see the color draining off their faces. I can see them being robbed of their childhood, of play, of fun, of laughter, of freedom to be and to become by stiff necked parents and collaborative teachers.

Be like the Jones’s

My heart breaks at the lengths which adults who claim to ‘have turned out fine’ will go to sacrifice their children so that they can fit it.

I wish the music would stop.

I wish the masks would fall off.
I wish every adult would realise the circus they are part of at the expense of the children.
I wish they would realise that they are all trying to please each other and not even succeeding yet breaking their children in the process.

Why are we so afraid?

Why are we so afraid of asking questions?
Question systems?
Asking Why until we reach a conclusive end?

Why are we so quick to flow with the flow when it is very clear to us that our children are screaming in silence,

THIS IS NOT WORKING FOR US!

Who sacrifices for who?

I believe that it is parents who sacrifice for children not children to sacrifice for their parents.
After all who brought who here?

But when parents make their happiness, their societal acceptance, their comfort the exclusive priority of their existence we have left behind a trail of broken children who unfortunately, unless an intervention happens, repeat the cycle.

 

And to the teachers

Ours is a noble job.
A calling.

A vocation.
Please let us remember that every time we open our mouths to speak to children.

And let us not forget:
We are the adults.

We know better, so we do better.

We speak better, we react better.

So help us God!