Children are our most precious treasures

Even though I do not have kids of my own, I still feel that children are our most precious treasures. I learnt for the first time today that what a child between the ages of 4 to 8 years old know, in terms of life, can put what I know to shame. This came about during a presentation from Dr. Susan Wright on the embodiment of art. She is an educational psychologist focused on young children, and has done alot of research on the art that children drew. It was such an eye opener.

Children between the ages 4 to 8 years old, who are able to draw and paint can churn out pictures with so much symbolism and content that can put most adults to shame. Granted, they cannot draw like Michael Angelo or Picasso, but the content in their artwork is just astounding. They can tell stories in their art, make use of space, positioning, lines, symbols, and colors that tell LOTS. And on just one single page. Most of all, they can even describe to you what it all means; although maybe not as succinctly as an adult can do it. I was awed beyond words.

But at the same time, I feel very sad for them all. Such bright, talented, and creative kids are subjected to our myopic classroom educational system that emphasizes memory work above everything else. On top of that, parents pressure and stress their kids to do "extremely well" (doing "well" for most parents now is not good enough), so that the parents will be able to boast to their peers. This is gross injustice on the innocent child.

And before anyone suggests that a revolt on the educational system is in order, I would like to say that I am not advocating one. We, the society is partially at fault for this injustice. We are all part of the society that advocates formalized classroom education as the way to go. We want fast results, smarter employees, etc. Who do you think are producing the fast results, and where do you think smarter employees come from - OUR KIDS. So, for those of you who are parents, maybe its time for you to realize what has been going on, and what has been done. Time to appreciate our little precious ones like the treasures they deserve to be. BUT PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL THEM !!!