A Moment of Silence to Save the World
It's absolutely appalling to read in the news, day in and day out about the crime in our city and province, not to mention worldwide.
It's even more shocking when the crime is committed by a young person with their best years still ahead of them.
Is there an antidote for the problems that plague society today?
How do we ensure that the children of this generation will grow up to beresponsible citizens of the world?
Mental health professionals, researchers in the social sciences and religious leaders have stated that the solution begins with the bedrock of society: education.
Millions of children begin each school day with the study of math, social studies, science or English. But what have they learned about their essential purpose? How are we leading them towards a meaningful and moral life?
History has shown that imparting knowledge to students does not guarantee proper moral values.
Perhaps in past generations, it worked for schools to impart knowledge to children and nothing else. Moral values used to be instilled at home by the parents.
In our generation, however, with the parents being busy and stressed out trying to keep up with their jobs and responsibilities, their relationship with their children has been somewhat compromised and they rely on the school to fill the vacuum.
Therefore, it's incumbent on the schools and educators to shape the adults of tomorrow while fostering and strengthening the parent-child bond.
We are proposing a proven method to allow schools and educators to foster the moral values of students in a universal manner while concurrently building a deeper relationship between the parents and their children.
For sixty seconds each day, at the beginning of the school day, students will have time for silent reflection.
An important point is that the children would ask their parents what is right for them to think about. Critically this will engage parents in their children's lives in a very meaningful way.
Some suggestions include: "How can I contribute to the world around me" or "How I will be grateful for what I have in life".
A moment of silence will generate beneficial and meaningful effects on the social atmosphere among students, and on student behaviours both inside and outside the school walls. In the era of social media and its constant bombardment, the most sensible and compassionate gift we can give our children is a quiet moment of reflection on a moral purpose.
This 'Moment of Silence' has been instituted in over one thousand schools across the US and the results have been incredible, with principals reporting higher grades and a qualitatively more relaxed environment at the school. The juvenile delinquency rates have dropped considerably.
A better tomorrow is in our hands, today.