What Am I Teaching Them?

As today is Martin Luther King, Jr Day, I wanted to do something with BigBrother. Sure, he’s only three. Sure, Martin Luther King Junior is a mouthful for older children. But being the family that we are, touched by King’s dream, I couldn’t simply let the day pass without some form of discussion and a few moments together. As it is bitter cold outside, I was left to fend for myself inside. And when I’m left to fend for myself, I turn to coloring pages.

It’s amazing the things you can discuss when you’re coloring together. Not only do we talk about what we’re coloring, but my oldest son’s brain seems to open up as he’s concentrating on coloring in the lines (a new task that he is so-very-determined to do most of the time) and, as such, he talks about things he likes. Things he doesn’t like. And he even listens while we’re coloring. It’s quite handy, really, doing some parenting and teaching work while doing something I enjoy. (Really? Why doesn’t anyone buy me coloring books for my birthday?)

And so, I chose this coloring sheet for the information about King included on the page itself. (And a little bit for the traingles but mostly for the information.)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a minister, civil rights leader, and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. King believed in equal rights and worked very hard for the benefit of African Americans. He said that all people should be treated equally and with respect. Nine years after his death, the United States honored him with the Congressional Medal of Freedom and declared his birthday a national holiday.

In true BigBrother fashion, he attempted to repeat each word in the nanosecond after I said it. As we colored, I told him that all people deserve for us to treat them nicely. All people. Then we named off everyone that he could think of at the time. Then he started making up names of people and we had a good laugh. He posed with his picture after he was done coloring and ran off to get his Superman cape and fire boots, his new wardrobe of choice.

He obviously doesn’t understand what today is or what the legacy of King’s dream means for our immediate family. But, I found this particular quote from King and, well, it’s just fitting for what we’re trying to do in the Fire Family.

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically… Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

In this household, we don’t leave education solely to the school system. We know that BigBrother and LittleBrother alike are very intelligent boys. We help them along with the intelligence part of it, reading non-stop and learning new words on a daily basis. I do things each day that foster a learning atmosphere within the house. But, maybe more so, we’re concerned with their character. Are they using their manners? Are they sharing? Do they legitimately care about the feelings of others? Are they compassionate human beings? And, in turn, am I being compassionate with them when they bop each other on the head, steal a toy from the other and refuse to say I’m sorry?

I hope so.

In addition to raising children who respect the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I am hoping to raise children who understand the process and value of a true education. We have a long way to go, of course, but I think we’re heading down the right path. I hope we’re heading down the right path.

[Picture is also our shot for today's Project365 over at Stop, Drop and Photograph. Sorry for duplication!]