Back To Kindergarten

A few days ago a friend and I were chatting and the conversation came around to the craziness now going on in this country. My friend, a wise young woman came up with a suggestion that I thought was wonderful and I've been giving it a lot of thought since.

Her idea is that starting at age 30 and every ten years thereafter, all adults take a mandatory kindergarten refresher course. I think that is a remarkable idea and would go a long way toward solving some of the idiotic behavior going on these days.

Robert Fulghum wrote a poem that most of us have read or at least heard of:

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten
 by Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.

Since the poem was published, he has come up with a few more ideas such as :
It doesn't matter what you say you believe - it only matters what you do.  
and
Don't worry that children never listen to you, worry that they are always watching you.


My friend and I came up with a few more such as:
Say please and thank you.
Don't shout, use your indoor voice.
Don't push.
Listen when others are talking.
Wait your turn.
Stop on red, go on green.
Help others.
Don't run with scissors.
Words hurt, think about what you're going to say before you say it.

Maybe if all adults had to go back over the basics every few years, some of them would sink in. Being rude and mean isn't being politically incorrect, it's being rude and mean.