What Has Happened to Freedom for Children?
A Look at Societal Constraints
In a public school in Arizona, a 13 year old was suspended from school for three days for a drawing that he made. It was reported to look too much like a gun. The drawing, posted at http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57276 , is a drawing of a neighborhood street, with kids or people crossing and playing with what looks like balls with smiley faces on them. Some people are saying that it looks like a normal drawing from a child. Others are saying it eerily resembles a gun and could be construed as a threat.
According to World Net Daily, in one elementary school in Pennsylvania, a kindergarten class is permitted to read books about witches and witchcraft, but not the Bible. While not everyone agrees with either of these religions, most will agree that if religion is banned, that should include all religions. However, if religion is allowed, that should also include all religions, but, unfortunately that is not the case at this Pennsylvania school.
Adults are forgetting that these children should be allowed freedom, just as an adult would deserve. Children should be allowed the freedom to express themselves, so long as they are not hurting themselves or others.
When children are being restricted their natural freedom, this will greatly reduce creativity. Why? If everything they do is picked over with a fine tooth comb, they will soon start to feel like it is not worth it anymore to be creative or have their own opinion. They will be afraid that what they do will be picked apart, which will, unfortunately, be true.
We are unintentionally raising a nation of robots that conform to the standards of whomever is in charge of them at the time. The problem with this is that who is in charge of them will change frequently and all these people will have different ideals. What this does is confuse the children. The other problem, is, of course, that the children lose the sense of who they are as a person because they have gotten so used to adjusting to what others believe.
What I believe needs to be done instead of teaching particular religious ideals, is that the children need to be introduced to a variety of religions and if the parents want certain religions focused on, they can pursue that more closely with the child outside of school. What this does is teach the child that there are many different beliefs and that not everyone believes the same thing, which is what they will see when they are out in the real world.
Sources:
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57403
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57276
Published by Lyn Lomasi - Featured Contributor in Lifestyle
Lyn's the Community Advocate at Yahoo! Contributor Network. Contact her with community issues & ideas. She's been contributing since 2007 and previously acted as a Community Guide. Read her tips for success... View profile
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39 Comments
Post a CommentGreat article! I truly beleive children should be allowed their freedom too.
I truly believe what you are saying. This could not be more true. The problem I feel will happen is one day all the robots will follow aimlessly down a path we can not prevent. Sheep to the slaught, so to speak. This is an article which should not just be on AC but on sites across the web. There are too many adults bleeting in obedience as well. Just take a look at half of our society.
Sorry I missed your comment Deannah. Anyhow, this is yet another reason why I will continue to home school my children. They are allowed to speak their minds and express their thoughts freely and if they are angry, I want to know and I want to help them, instead of making them hold it inside and letting it get worse. If they are excited, I want them to be able to get up and dance if they want to. I don't want them to think that expressing their feelings is wrong. I want them to be able to be honest about what they are feeling and to be able to express that without fear. When feelings and thoughts are held inside, it isn't good for the brain or the soul.
I totally agree, and I believe this may be the reason for my writer's block. It's not like I've run out of ideas to write about (those are plentiful), but my problem is that whenever I plan to write something down, I feel that it'll be wrong once it hits the paper. In school, there always teaching you the "politically correct" way of doing things to prepare for the real world. The question is: Why is it that when we actually hit the real world, the things we learned in school all those years are suddenly unreliable?
Thanks you three! I totally agree Heather and Jasmine. In an age where children are subjected to such hateful crimes and exposed to such negative lessons and behaviorial characteristics, homeschooling seems the best option for those who are dedicated. I want my kids to learn positive things about other people and cultures and learn to express their anger in a positive manner - not dish it out onto others.
Great article! I love when people ask me why do I homeschool. It's not a hard answer.
It's ridiculous how things are these days, kids banned for drawiing pictures, for hugging teachers, for saying "I like you." It's one of the many reasons I plan to homeschool.
Thanks Lisa and Alicia!
This is so true. I have been having the same thoughts lately, but just didn't put them down on paper like you did with this article.
Excellent.
Outstanding work on this M2L!!!!!!