Curriculum of Compassion

Although I’m a firm believer that the good in this world far outweighs the bad, it’s impossible not to notice the overwhelming abundance of posts, attention and overall gloom-n-doom overtaking the media these days. I don’t typically get caught up in it because I have a strict ‘no-news’ policy and whether or not that makes me more naïve than most, I know for a fact I’m less stressed as well, so I’ll keep it that way.

It seems to me however, that what we’re seeing is evidence more of a lack of compassion and love than an overabundance of violence and hate – one the chicken, the other the egg.

I noticed a Mom with her 3 children exiting the post office today, just as an elderly gentleman was making his way in with a large parcel. The children (and I didn’t hear them instructed to do so) ran to the door and held it open for him. He demonstrated his gratitude with a smile and laughed out loud saying his ‘thank you’s’ yet seemed surprised, actually, slightly shocked. I was as proud of those little ones as their mother appeared to be. In their faces I could see the joy at the opportunity to help.

What made this stand out is that it stood out! Witnessing something like this should be normal and yes, the gratitude should be there, but not the shock. I remember when this was the case. I remember when if you were in a room with limited seating, no women were left standing regardless of the time of arrival; I remember people returning a hello when you greeted them or even trying to beat you to it; I remember when courtesy was the rule, not the exception. I suppose we, as children, were seeing this happening all around us. No one had to necessarily ‘instruct’ us to be courteous, loving and compassionate, we were because our parents, society and teachers were, and that was that.

I remember when schools first started offering breakfast – picking up where the families perhaps could not; I remember when schools taught children how to hide under their desks fearing the threat of a nuclear bomb during the cold war (like seriously, WTF and holy crap I’m old); I remember the film strips in 5th grade talking about STD’s and birth control; I remember how AIDS became a topic of conversation at just about every level - from discouraging biting in the playground, to safe sex at the appropriate age; I remember how subtle yet obvious compassion for the environment (thank God) flooded the curriculum, becoming an important focus; I know they teach tolerance for gender equality and no tolerance for bullying; I know there are schools doing active shooter evasive training now and sad as it is, there’s a reason – all of these are taught because the schools and yes, the parents, deem them necessary.

Now under no circumstances do I want this to be misconstrued as my saying this is yet another area where our school system needs to pick up the slack where the family unit may be lacking, not at all. I believe character, love and compassion are and need to be taught and embraced in the home, period! Having said that, I wonder how much of the curriculum these days is embracing this philosophy of compassion, love and courtesy? I’d like to think it is and in the mission statements of just about every school board I’ve looked up, the words character and compassion are part of the verbiage. I love seeing “My kid did the right thing” bumper stickers on cars because I know that’s referring to character, I just hate how few of them I see. I have so many friends who are teachers and I know they’re going above and beyond in this regard and love that it’s happening but is it enough?

Abraham Lincoln said “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next” I’d like to take that a step further and say that it will be the philosophy of the world in the next. The greatest resource we have on this planet is our children.

I guess my rant is really about prevention. If our children (and adults for that matter) are operating from a place of love, compassion, respect and courtesy, would we need to ‘teach’ tolerance or bullying prevention or victim coping exercises? Would we have so many children suffering from anxiety disorders and unnecessary pressures to perform and outperform? On the same token, I wonder, are we on the defensive instead of on the offensive? What can we do to insure that our children do not fall prey to pessimism or subject to the negative that is getting so much attention?

I pray that parents are getting out there and volunteering with their children, witnessing how much good is really going on in our world which, for some reason, is not getting enough attention. I would hope that children are not just doing the bare minimum required when it comes to community service and I hope that schools will consider taking the hours allotted to homework for the mere sake of preparing them for tests (that often don’t measure anything more than how much funding the school will receive the following year) and allow a good portion of those hours to be invested in being in the service of others. Grade that! That is what’s going to make the world a better place.

I can tell you from experience children LOVE to give and serve. They are born compassionate and loving. Please embrace that, encourage it in them and be supportive of their loving hearts. This and only this will guarantee a better world in the future.

(Besides, wouldn’t you want to instill some love, compassion and courtesy in those who will be choosing your nursing home? J )

Happy Thursday Dreamers!