(ThySistas.com) Parents use to subscribe to the local newspaper for coupons, and to have their children read articles about current events and give an oral or written report on what they’ve read. Maybe that was the parents in my family and neighborhood. There was a harping among parents about children needing to be aware of the world around them in every way possible. Remember, being a black child in America is different. A lack of observation of one’s surroundings could be dangerous, or in the worst case scenarios fatal. Parents didn’t just use history to tell children about the past…they related it to the present. Reading wasn’t just fundamental for school; it was necessary to life and safety. There was an encouragement to know what has happening locally, in one’s state, nationally, and globally. I was kid that was made to watch C-span, read about electoral candidates, and articles on subjects like the end of the Cold War and the Persian Gulf War. It wasn’t left to the school (or a history class) to teach what was going on in the world. With all the access to technology available to children today…this aspect of awareness seems to be sorely missing.
Young people get online to read about sports, entertainment, drama, “the tea”, you name it…but if you ask them to tell you about current events outside of a natural disaster, they might draw a blank. There are so many tools available to our children to help inform them and allow them to begin to shape their world view. This is something that shouldn’t happen just as our children are moving towards graduating from high school. There are many parenting styles out now, but one thing we must remember is we can’t shelter our children from the world that they life in. We must try to raise their awareness as carefully as possible. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it should be a reminder that at any given time we can find ourselves in the middle of a national or global crisis with nowhere to run.
You might ask the question, well isn’t that the job of the school system…to teach current events? I will answer you yes and no. Do you trust the school system to adequately teach Black History to your children? Think about that for a moment. Do you trust the school system to teach American History as it happened? If you need a point of reference, think back to your history classroom experience, and please attention the discussion on Critical Race Theory. The schools can introduce your child to current events, but the same bias information they get in a history class will also apply to said current events. We have too many examples of why the education of our children can not be left solely in the hands of the education system. This fact doesn’t discredit any of the educators fighting to teach out kids every day. The say system that should give you pause, is the same one they are fighting…and they would suggest you spend time with a book and your kids outside of a classroom.
I understand parenting is hard: especially when you couple it with the responsibilities we face as adults, the stress from work, and trying to keep ones self afloat. However, the education of our kids, and their preparedness in the world is still one of our chief responsibilities as parents. This is one of those things we just have to make time to execute. Having your kids read about current events gives you an opportunity to see how they are relating to what they read, you can answer questions they might not understand, and make sure they are properly informed. As they explain what they understand you can address any “fake news” should it exist. This is where you teach the difference between entertainment and opinion sources, verses reputable news sources, and why this matters. You are able to impart wisdom and explain various nuances that they won’t get in a classroom. This can also lead your child to want to read more, while making them conscious of the work around them, and where they fit in that picture. As children learn more about the world around them, their observation & critical thinking skills are sharpened. It’s definitely worth the time.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
May connect with this sister over at Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/christian.pierre.9809 and also Twitter; http://twitter.com/MrzZeta.
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