I wish I didn't care

I wish I didn't care
By Nancy Greggs:

I wish I didn’t care that some children sleep
Hungry and cold, too weary to weep
Too hopeless to know that others could share – but won’t
I wish I didn’t care

I wish I didn’t know that some people die
Alone and friendless, without knowing why
Wanting to question why no one is there – but don’t
I wish I didn’t care

I wish I didn’t see what’s there on the news
Meant not to enlighten, but just to amuse
Designed to remind me what I could do – but can’t
I wish I didn’t care

I wish I didn’t know in my heart
That I am meant to do my part
To speak, to write, to sing, to plan
To do whatever it is I can
To give, to teach, to help – assist
Those who fight, speak out – resist
I wish I didn’t know I could
Change the world – if only I would
I’d be free, and unaware
If I could just not care

This is my burden, this is my task
To have to wonder, deign to ask
Why some have what is deemed their lot
Why some are valued, and others not

I wish I didn’t care about it all
Who lives, who dies, who heeds the call
Who listens, who hastens, who risks the fall
Of the concept, the dream
That we can be all that we seem
And never falter on our way to where we’re going, if only we go there together

I wish I didn’t care that my brothers are mine
That my sisters are sisters, subdued but sublime
That they are in my keeping, as I am in theirs
I wish I didn’t care.

But I do. And so do all of you.

It’s not about who they are; it’s about who you are.

Just care. A little goes a long way.

So try it.

Mother's talk influences kid's social skills

Really? I guess I need to catalog this under, "Duh!"

From CNN:

Mothers often get blamed for the way their children turn out, and a new study gives additional weight to that accusation.

Mothers have opportunities to teach empathy every day, psychologists say.

Research from the United Kingdom shows that the way mothers talk to their children at a young age influences their social skills later in childhood.

The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, found that children whose mothers often talked to them about people's feelings, beliefs, wants and intentions developed better social understanding than children whose mothers did not.

In the first part of the study, mothers were asked to talk to their 3-year-old children about a series of pictures depicting scenes such as a child coming out of school looking happy and people waiting in line. Children whose mothers talked about the mental state of characters in the picture tended to perform better on social understanding tasks, the researchers found.

The effect persisted when the researchers revisited the families -- 57 of them remained in the study until the end -- on an almost yearly basis. The authors controlled for socioeconomic status and IQ of the mothers and found that these factors were not as relevant.

Who teaches empathy?

That article really got me thinking. Who is responsible to teach children empathy, compassion and respect for others?

I would immediately say; of course, it is the parent's responsibility. And, in a perfect world each and every parent would take this responsibility very seriously indeed. But how do we as a society make sure it is being done? Who enforces it? The victims? The bystanders? The penal system? There in lies the tricky situation for the public schools.

If the lessons aren't being taught at home then it ends up being the "village's" responsibility. Ignoring it just has too much cost for our society.

I am sure every teacher out there would much rather focus all their time on curriculum and teaching. Time is short and they are already forced to spend way too much time on prepping for standardized tests. And, yes, unfortunately they are also expected to teach children empathy and mutual respect as well.

In a nut shell, I think that is where the bullying issue comes in. As they say, "Hurt people hurt people".

I do think that if a child comes into the school setting and is bullying other kids, the school needs to nip it in the bud. The victims need help obviously but the bully does too. And, no, "stickup for yourself" is not help.There needs to be strong, appropriate, very serious consequences presented, promoted and understood. The parents need to be brought into the discussion. Little kids need to learn from day one appropriate ways of treating others. Set the rules early and enforce them. In extreme cases, the child should be expelled. I guarantee those parents will sit up and take notice if their kid doesn't have a place to go each day. The bully needs to be taken out of the mix and given help before it is too late. If we don't do this we are condoning it, we are reinforcing it, we are enabling it.

I feel for public school administrators. They are in a tight spot on this one. But, by not being clear and consistent about a bullying policy it will end up biting them, one way or the other. And, for the Tukwila School District we can see just how hard they are being bitten.