There is so much in the news this week to have an opinion about. The Impeachment, the State of the Union Address, the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and about 1,000 other topics of division. I've been holding back my thoughts all week, but something happened today that was a bit enlightening for me and I thought I'd share.
Last night, as a family, we sat down to watch the State of the Union Address. Being a homeschooling family, bedtimes are often tossed aside for the sake of learning or bonding. So our "happy to stay up past bedtime" kids watched and their little minds were full of all sorts of questions. We answered all the questions as they came and felt rather accomplished by the end of the evening. Our kids had a great civics lesson.
We didn't discuss people or didn't waste time interjecting our political beliefs. Instead, we taught our kids that those in attendance had differing opinions and that's why not everyone stood together. We taught them that that it's okay to disagree.
We discussed respect and told them that the president was to be referred to as Mr. President Trump. We taught them that the man behind our president was named Mr. Vice President Pence and he ran for office with President Trump. Together they were elected. We taught them that the woman behind the president was named Mrs. Nancy Pelosi and that she is the Speaker of the House. Then we answered all of the questions they had pertaining to those three positions.
As the night unfolded, they watched and listened. We answered all of their questions truthfully and honestly. Again, we did our very best to teach them the facts and leave it at that! I was proud at how attentive they were and encouraged by their interest in our great nation. We put them to bed and woke up today to a new day of education.
Fast forward to our afternoon math lesson. It's very important to me that our children know their basic math facts and we drill them daily. Today, our oldest child improved his time, yet he missed one problem. He was upset about it. Daily, daily we do these math sheets. Nearly everyday he misses one problem. Or he's just a bit slower than he was the day before. Every day he faces a struggle and every day we talk through it and we look at the progress he is making. I help him to focus on the good. But today, I watched him begin to RIP HIS PAPER IN HALF! He began to rip his paper in half, stopping himself before the deed was completely done. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and I thought, "oh, that's just a strange coincidence." I gave him the time he needed to calm down, and then later in the day, very casually, I asked him why he did that. He said, "well because of last night mom!"
wow.
People, our kids are watching and they are learning. Now, whether or not you believe what Mrs. Pelosi did was justified, or whether you believe it wasn't, that isn't the point. My kids watched an important evening last night and what did they take away from it? They saw the division in our country. They saw people using anger against one another. They saw out of control politicians disrespecting one another.
We need to teach our kids how to respect one another and how to work together. Our children are not getting a great example from the leaders of our nation. This was such a wake up call to me. We have a big job as parents in today's world and we face a lot of challenges that parents of past generations didn't face. The biggest issue I think we face is a common lack of respect for others. What do they hear you saying at home about our leaders? What do you call these people when your kids are within ear shot? What we say... It really, really matters. Be an example. Teach your kids respect for our nation's leaders, whether you like them or not. Teach them to accept differences as the opportunities that they are, that differences can lead to growth. Our children are going to change this country and this world.
What kind of change do you want your child to be a part of?
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