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Earlier this week a British national newspaper carried a front page story concerning a possible new initiative whereby this present government is once again going to try to invade the family unit. This time "the Nanny State" intends to force parents to attend classes where they will learn to sing nursery rhymes to their children. Apparently this lack of nursery rhymes has taken its place at the top of the list of dangers to the future of our children. The thinking behind this and the possible resulting scenes conjur up images that are really rather humourous.
How will the lessons actually work? Will diction be a focus? Will parents be given lessons in rhyme, meter, and cadence? Will specialists be brought in to help parents imitate various animal sounds? Will special day-long conferences be convened to educate parents in the symbolic intricacies of "Three Blind Mice"? The mind boggles at the possibilities.
However, it doesn't take long before the mental images soon lose their humourous nature. The implications of yet another attempt at incursion into the life of the family begin to loom rather large. Apparently this initiative is just part of a new "parenting workforce" that will be established--by the government of course--to take the lead role in showing parents how to take care of their children. This is just another case of government pressuring parents to "outsource" the raising of their children. This possibility raises several questions that must be answered.
Will the government train parents to raise their children according to the current governmental policies and doctrines, which seem to change every six months? Will the moral standards be based upon a relativistic ethic that seems to approve of anything and everything just "as long as I'm not hurting anyone"? Will the educational philosophies that are handed down be based upon our current political correctness gone mad? And how on earth do they expect to get the parents who truly need such training to actually show up for Mother Goose Appreciation Days? The potential consequences would undoubtedly provide George Orwell and Aldous Huxley with enough material for several more Big Brothers and coming Brave New Worlds.
The more important question to us should be, How do we as parents respond? I answer my question with a story that I recently read about the great British writer, G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton was a journalist who had penned over 1000 articles and written over 100 books. He regularly debated with some of the great minds of his day over the issues of Christianity, and frequently won the debates. He was known for his literary knowledge and quick wit. During a radio interview, Chesterton was asked the question: "If you were stranded on a desert island, what would be the one book you would want to have with you?" Undoubtedly the interviewer was expecting some high and lofty answer from the spiritual and literary giant, but without missing a beat Chesterton answered, "A Practical Guide to Shipbuilding."
The point is that sometimes the answer is so obvious that it can easily pass us by. How do we respond? We take the responsibility that has been given to us by God--not the government--and we begin to raise our children to be free-thinking, responsible individuals who are able to get outside the box of societal pressure to make a difference in their family, community, and society. We train them according to the historically proven, God-given absolute principles that have been the foundation of western society for centuries. We use the freedom that we still have to educate them so that they are able to learn throughout their lifetime and find their way through our increasingly complicated and unstable world. With God's help--not the government's--responsible parenting will result in the raising of whole and responsible children.
And by the way, if you're looking for good material to use in teaching your children nursery rhymes, A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson is a great place to start.
Bruce Garrison |
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