English poet William Wordsworth famously wrote, “The child is the father of man” — a sentiment which, upon a moment’s reflection, becomes readily apparent rather than cryptic. Everything we experience and learn as children affects us for the rest of our lives. It forms our character and lays down those neural pathways in the brain, the hard-wired circuits that will then determine how we react to circumstances.
So when I read about violence in our schools, universities, even among elementary school students, I truly start to worry for our future as a society. Humanity has always struggled with the notion that might, indeed, be “right,” but over and over again we vanquish the idea in favor of other values. Children have had no opportunity to do so. When pushed, they simply react. But what kind of human landscape are we building when we allow children to struggle physically with each other over school breakfasts?
It is not a situation to which we can afford to turn and blind eye. John Dewey said that learning violence is a waste of energy for children — that nothing positive can be accomplished when such “learning” is occurring. But I think another statement of his is even more relevant to the situation. Dewey was also of the opinion that the manner in which one is taught — the physical and social environment of learning — is more important than the content of the material being taught.
Much as we educators may not wish to acknowledge the truth of that statement, I think we can’t possibly deny it, either. We would like to think that our carefully chosen words and messages, pedagogical or philosophical, are making it through to children’s minds and taking root there. But they can only do so when the environment we create and foster is consistent with those messages. To put it simply, actions speak louder than words.
So I truly worry when I think of our elementary school children growing and learning in an environment where they have to physically struggle for a place at the table. I worry about them almost equally whether they are the victors or the underdogs, or even merely the observers, in that struggle. No matter what their role, the message they are ingesting along with their food is that “might is right” — that the way to acquire something you need is to fight for it, to overpower others. And if that is the social environment they are required to function within, I am afraid no moral of philosophical speech will obscure its message, and ten or twenty years from now, we will be dealing with the consequences on the streets of our cities.
It is essential, therefore, that we address the behavior and interpersonal dynamics on a community level, and to create an environment where children know their rights and safety are assured. Then they can get on with learning the other wisdom we have to teach them.
