The Lady In The Library

Have you ever just went to another state's or city's newspaper in order to gather what they think the news is in that world? I ventured into the great NW...the home of the Ducks and Beavers...and found this little gem:

Kids and MLK

Raising children is not an easy task (said captain obvious). I am very outspoken regarding parents who think keeping their children hidden from the "world" is the best course. In an effort to protect the child, the parent limits the child's ability to prepare for the "world". In turn, knowing when your child is ready for the "world" becomes the real test of parenting. Who does the parent use as the onus of the decision: the parent or the child?

Any -ism demands so many layers of understanding that, as the article notes, we sometimes lose the very heart of the subject. The pain of knowledge comes from the self and how the self values it-self against the other. That our nation still feels a need to tip-toe around the black..white debate begs so many questions, none more relevant than "why can't we discuss it?". Is it that these children don't define themselves by the subjects of the past that it can be so freely operated on? Doesn't the debate always take an ugly turn when the subject becomes too personal and hence we find ourselves not defending the issue but rather our own self-defining positions?

Some might argue there is a fine line between telling and teaching. I disagree. Teaching is the simple task of finding a means of getting someone to understand a concept or a fact. The concept can be easier in that it isn't concrete. The fact, however, is presented as defined and when the questions arise about the fact then the teacher is obligated to have a sound understanding not only of the fact itself but how the fact came to be. To be clear, I am not using teacher as a professional term but rather as one who teaches. One does not need a degree to teach something.

So our article finds a group of children, in Oregon, working their way through the maze of MLK and racism. With the help of Teachers who had the good sense to know what approach to take. Phoebe would be proud.

"The cow in the meadow goes moo,
the cow in the meadow goes moo…
Then the farmer hits him on the head and grinds him up, and that's how we get hamburgers…
Now chicken!!!"