“And the Children Shall Lead….” I know these words originated from a quote somewhere in the old testament. Looked it up and apparently, according to what I found it is not exact. The exact quote is something more like…..
from Isaiah 11:6, which reads:
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.
But that is neither here nor there for me. I seemed to have always known it as “…..and the children shall lead.” I don’t know why. Maybe I heard it in a sermon. Maybe as an educator I simply saw that children are, for the most part, unspoiled purveyors of truth while, we, the adults (too many of us anyway), have become skilled in “truthiness”.
Whatever the origin, the phrase has been on my mind since in the aftermath of the school shooting in FL, listening to some of the young survivors, seeing, hearing their truth. Their strength, their righteous indignation has inspired. And in my mind I hear it over and over: “And the Children Shall Lead….”
I am a retired educator with forty some years having taught in public schools. My first year, in 1967-68, I was a young, naive, optimistic 5th grade teacher. At times overwhelmed, especially those first days where I, as a 21 year old, was in charge of twenty five 10/11 year olds, I was unsure of my competence. Still I knew it was my calling.
I had come out of college during a time when anti war, anti-segregation, pro civil rights marches were becoming more and more the norm. I had been to a few. I was a believer. I believed, we, the young people, could change the world. I admired the FREEDOM RIDERS who had been going all over registering people. I had been watching this new African American hero , Martin Luther King, Jr giving speeches on television. As a kid I watched in horror as grown white men and women threatened young African American children daring to integrate schools and lunch counters. I still vividly remember seeing on television, as a seventeen year old, fire hoses being turned on people, many my age, who were peacefully marching. I cried and was angry and neither of my parents could calm me, or explain to me how people could do this to other people. Or why? I still remember the name Bull Connor from all those years ago.
So by 1968, I believed we, the people, mostly the young people, had no choice but to enact, fight for change. Still I had to work. So teaching, in my heart, was another way to be an activist for progressive change.
When Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, I had to go into school and face a classroom of young children needing to understand, needing comfort. Something bad had happened to a man who trying to do good. It had only been five years since I had felt that same fear, shock and confusion as a college freshman when JFK was assassinated. Yet here I was struggling to be strong, to inspire confidence and assuage fear as the adult in the room. I did my best, with no hint that I would face the same children in June to explain yet another assassination, RFK, in June of the same year, a few short days before school would let out. Alas, I wondered what was happening to our world.
Throughout my career, in different schools, with different children and in a different state I continued to try hard to inspire children to be critical thinkers, to learn through all disciplines what it means to be a good citizen, a strong leader, a caring member of the human race. I often used media to help. This was all long before NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND when I felt independent enough, protected enough (thanks to my teacher’s local, state and nationals) to choose materials, to adapt curriculum. A show called “Wonder Works” had emerged on PBS. They did a series of “after school special” type shows. I would tape them on my newly purchased VCR. It was the 80s. I was appalled by the election of Reagan and was more active in political ways than I had been back in the 60s. Reagan scared me more than Nixon had because Reagan was so good at schmoozing, at spinning and unlike Nixon was likable giving him more access to some who were never able to support Birchers or Nixon.
One of the shows they did was “And the Children Shall Lead” starring Danny Glover. While it was made in 1985, it was basically about the 1960s, the Freedom Riders and voter registration. It was a good vehicle for 6th grade age and it helped me facilitate good discussions with my class. At that time 6th grade was still a part of elementary and I had my class for much of the day making us a community. I was not limited to 50 minutes of class. I could allow discussions to go on, and re-show parts, and tell children to discuss among themselves, come up with questions, concerns, talk to their parents. It was still 15 years until Columbine, there was no Sandy Hook, and so many more, and not in my wildest dreams could I imagine them. But there was still institutional racism, still bigotry, still family instilled prejudices and with Reagan, to me, it was getting worse instead of better. This little one hour special I shared for years with students hoping to inspire future leaders to get us back on track for progressive change.
This morning for the first time in what seems like forever, I am finding a sliver of hope hearing the students in FL. As I listened to them, I had some hope that maybe with the children leading, we can stop the madnesss. The words, “ and the children shall lead” are turning over in my mind because what I see now is a country being lead, controlled by the most evil, vile, racist, sexist, gun loving b*st*rds ever. The entire R party along with a few dems have sold their souls to the highest bidder aka NRA and are too cowardly to turn their backs on money and evil, even to save children. These kids from FL see through them and are doing something. Hallelujah. We, the adults, need to follow their lead, support them, be there for and with them. We just have to do this. We have to stop the madness for them.
Thank you for reading. Sometimes writing is a way for me to work through grief.
***** Students announced this today. I saw it after I published….”“Here’s a time. March 24th in every single city. We are going to be marching together as students begging for our lives.”
I plan on marching with them in my city, Philadelphia, PA. I am the age of the victims’ and survivors grandmothers! I will march with them, for them and for my own grandkids. Hope all of you will too.