Educating on Practical Life

When I was in college my brother and his wife gave birth to their first born. Both were very conscious at being a good parent. One thing that I noticed is how they taught their son even at such tender age of 16 months to arrange his shoes properly. Though both parents are patient whenever my nephew forget about this particular chore or when he did not put away his shoes properly on the shoe rack. My brother was very specific at how the shoes were arranged and would ask his son to do the task all over again if this is not done. I wondered how this obsession with arranging pairs of shoes in a particular way would help him. but I never bothered to ask my brother about it.

I watched my nephew grow up into a well-mannered kid and a responsible one too. He is very orderly in everything he does. Even helping with the house chores became natural to him that his mother does not even have to ask for his help because he is always ready to assist her.

A couple of years later I settled down and had a kid of my own. People were shocked even my employee who is hired to help take care of my son when I'm working that I insist that my son take part in cleaning the house. I am very specific that my employee should follow this rule at home. My son, learned to dust the table and chairs, mop and sweep the floor and even give a helping hand in the kitchen. He does this at a specific hour in the morning before he he could play. Furthermore this rule is also supported at his school where practical life experiences were reinforced and part of the curriculum. I asked his teacher about the significance of these activities. He informed me that practical life experiences builds the character of the child. This would help him become an active contributor in his community. Upon learning this, my brother's simple rule on shoe arrangement, now made sense. I wish schools would incorporate such in their program and make their student realize how important this is in order to become a good and responsible citizen. In this manner, we can build a wonderful future for everyone. :-)