I love those little kiddies!

It's Monday.
And, as a daily routine of my Mondays, I had to tutor children at Ross Community Center. And, as usual, I didn't feel like going (quite frankly, I really just wanted to take a nap.) When I got there, the kids didn't really have any homework, so I began to play basketball games with a child in the gymnasium. I thought for a second and remembered how nice it was outside today. I suggested to her that we play outside, and she agreed. We then went into the room and asked if anyone wanted to go outside. Of course, all the kids went outside in a frantic, yet excited state. They were super happy to get out of that musty room for a little bit. They had me push them on the swings, make them move on the merry-go-round, and play tag. Oh.My.Goodness. They have so much energy...but I have never seen those children so happy before. It put a genuine smile on my face.
Personally, I think these children need to have these fun days every once in a while. They sit in school for 7 hours a day, only to come to tutoring to do a bunch more homework and play educational games. While I definitely believe getting their education is important, they need to have fun every once in a while.



Okay, picture explanation time. I feel that this picture perfectly fits to what I have just said. How, you ask? In today's world, all we do is work, work, work, especially when we reach the age we have gotten enough education to have a job. So, what makes us feel like we must drown today's youth in barrels of standardized tests, homework, and non-entertaining "activities." Childhood, in a sense, is like a ride. It is meant for carefree fun. Making everything serious and stressful all the time is like taking them off of the ride of their life. I'm sure many of us remember when we felt yanked into the world of reality and responsibility. For some of us, it may have been earlier than you wanted to, so your "ride" of childhood was not as expected. Therefore, this made the ride not enjoyable. I believe all children should be able to enjoy the innocence of life while they still can, because once they realize what the real world is really like, their ride will be over before they know it.
End Rant.

-Emily