Jenny Block ,writing in a piece on the Huffington Post called, "Indoctrinate Your Children Before It's Too Late", says this:
"I think we should indoctrinate our children from the moment they are born. I think we should tell them that all people are equal and that skin color is just a matter of pigment distribution. I think we should tell them that all religion is faith, nothing more and nothing less, and that there is no ultimate truth and that no religion is more 'right' than another. I think we should tell them that life isn't fair but that they should work to make it more so. I think we should tell them that you can't trust everyone but that there is nothing more important than building trusting relationships. I think we should teach them that love is plentiful and that there are endless permutations that a family can take. And we should assure them that anyone who tells them otherwise is merely frightened and deserves our understanding and our patience."
And on and on Jenny goes for SIX more paragraphs beginning with "I think we should tell them that..."
My question to you, Jenny, is WHY? Why should we tell our children how and what to think? Because your values are "good?" Because your thoughts are those of an "open" mind? Because "progressive" positions are better than retrogressive ones? And mind you, most of what you believe in IS good. But here's what's WRONG with your position - You presume that children have no soul, that they come into life without an innate inner guidance system based on love and trust. That they have to be taught acceptance and tolerance. What you don't realize in all of your misguided "good" intentions is that children always respond to the deeper messages adults are giving them, and "indoctrinating" children, no matter what your overt philosophy, is primarily telling children that they cannot trust themselves, that they are not naturally loving and cooperative, etc., that they "need" to be "taught" by "you" how to be "better" than they naturally are.
Jenny, please, in the words of Pink Floyd: "Leave those kids alone."
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You have so much more trust in kids than she does. Not only does she lack respect for a child's innate sensitivity, she's scared of children. She's not the only one. Children can be so irrational! Especially when, like my 3 year old, they go through phases where they want to argue with you about all the things that to you seem so obvious. I relate to her fear, and I relate to your trust.
It's not always easy to have faith in the wisdom of a child or in oneself for that matter. A lot of us are scared of kids and what they might become. A lot of us are scared of ourselves and what we might become (if we don't go to the gym!)
It's a good and complicated challenge you are outlining here.
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