Maggie's Farm

Right on, Meta ... It appears that schools have arrogated to themselves child training which properly belongs to the parents--like when to have The Talk about sex, and what to say about it, like constant reiteration of the question "how would you feel if you were Johnny and someone did that to you?" to teach them empathy for others. Families are supposed to deal with civilizing our darling innocent savages so that they will eventually be fit to live in close contact with the rest of our crowded world. And since the child is ours, and we remember our own struggles with our mistakes, we are the best people to tackle the job. We can sense when 'it's time,' to introduce one difficult lesson or another. And who can care more about whether the lesson is learned than the parents who love him or her. Certainly not the busy, harried school teachers who have more than enough on their plates with their own problems.

I have never had a child of my own. But I have loved other people's children. And I am constantly amazed and impressed with the loving patience demonstrated by parents who have seemed often impatient with the rest of the world. It's one of the human miracles, and I never tire of seeing it.

Marianne