Another Way

Early in my teaching career, which began in the 1960’s, the nine year olds in my third grade class came upon a story about a country at war. They asked what war was, and we discussed it. The things that impressed me the most about that discussion were the questions they asked from their vantage points.

From their beautiful innocence these were the questions they asked:

Are the children safe?

Are the children with their Mommy’s and Daddy’s?

Does everyone have enough food?

Imagine dealing with conflict with such purity. Trying to see that these very basic needs have priority.

I wish we had nine year olds in places like the U.N. and other world organizations, so they could share their wisdom.

I wish we had third graders advising our Congress, Senate,and Supreme Court too.