Thank God For Children

Children are our Future

My niece and nephew recently came to visit from the Midwest. They had never seen this part of the world, and I thought they would be impressed with the variety of ecosystems in Eastern Washington. Thus, I was a bit surprised when their initial request was to take a ride in “Uncle Frank’s snazzy convertible.” We mounted up, and I was about to start the engine when they asked for help with their seatbelts. These kids, ages five and nine, were conditioned to fasten their belts before the car was put in motion. I was impressed with the results of quality parenting. I don’t think the government should be responsible to make me wear my seat belt, but I think it is dumb not to, and I enforced this rule with my own children. I remember noticing that my son’s car had the seat belt fastened behind the seat so he would not have to listen to the car’s beeping reminder to buckle up. He lost his driving privileges for a month. The lesson must have stuck as he is adamant that his own children fasten their belts before he moves the car. They didn’t learn this valuable lesson in school.

Government programs cannot shape the future of our society near as much parents. Many of us look to schools as the vanguard in creating America’s future generations. There are basic problems with that thinking. One, Parents are more influential. Two, experts with PhDs in education are often out of touch with the society they are trying to shape. Not long ago, academia decided that the USA should move towards the metric system. Towards this end, they began using metric in all school arithmetic and math books. I was teaching freshman Algebra at the time and witnessed the unintended consequences. Students could visualize a pound or a foot. A pound was four sticks of butter and six feet was the height of a full-grown man. They had no reference with metric measurements. They couldn’t visualize 1.85 meters or 400 cubic centimeters. It was as if I was teaching Algebra in a foreign language. I had to write my own story problems using feet and inches in order to give the kids a fighting chance to learn the basics of Algebra. Government experts are frequently too far from the society they are trying to modify.

Most Americans would say they believe in following the law and, “Honesty is the best policy .” In practice, however, we feel a real need to lock our doors and anything not nailed down is expected to walk away. That is not the case in all societies. I had the wonderful opportunity to teach English in the Japanese public-school system. There are no Robin Hoods in Japan nor any admiration for rebels. If you inadvertently drop something on the street in Japan, you can retrace your route and find it. No one picks it up. I dropped my wallet on my way to work one morning and went back 30 minutes later to find it lying on the side of a busy sidewalk. There are no home break-ins in Japan. Doors are seldom locked. You can find vending machines that sell almost anything to include canned alcoholic drinks. If you are 21, you can buy a bourbon and coke in any subway station, but underage kids don’t partake because it would be wrong. They have been conditioned to follow the rules much the same as my niece and nephew have been conditioned to wear their seat belts.

Could we condition future generations to be blind to skin color? Can we become a society that values personal honor above any gain that can be derived by lying or cheating? I think so, but government programs to do so must be aimed at the parents. Only the parents can instill honor in children.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long-term resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 19 years.