The 25 lessons for life written
by Marian Wright Edelman could be a syllabus for everyone’s schooling.
As president of the Children’s
Defense Fund, she wrote the book for her own children, but they truly stand the
test of time for all.
One lesson, for example, cuts
to the heart of many of our nation’s problems.
She writes: “Remember, and help
America remember, that the fellowship of human beings is more important than
the fellowship of race and class and gender in a democratic society.”
She writes to her children: “Be
decent and fair and insist that others be so in your presence.”
She asks how long our nation will
take before it understands that its ability to compete and lead in the world is
bound as tightly to its poor and nonwhite children, as it is to its white and
privileged ones.
When it comes to building a
decent and just America for all our children, Edelman says:
“We are not all equally guilty,
but we are all equally responsible.”
Certainly these are important
words for all children to hear and absorb, and important thoughts for the
adults who impart this powerful message.
