Schooling

In kindergarten we were taught how to hold our pencils. In elementary school we were taught how to color within the lines. "No, not like that; like this!", as if there were only one way to fill in a picture completely within the lines. In middle school, they start telling us to "think outside the box." In high school, they have us taking tests, filling in bubbles exactly within the lines. With what they have us learn in school, what can we truly apply to a lasting life? Yes, basic skills like being able to write and fill in bubbles are useful in many situations, but for a lasting life? How can we "think outside the box" when they have us coloring within the lines? With this education, we find one thing lacking: life. When will they teach us of love, not casual love, as between a boy and girl who break up two weeks after their first date, but of real love and compassion for others? Hope for a better future, grace for the disgraceful, forgiveness for those undeserving? When will they teach us of peace, so that when wars and disputes ravage the entire world, we will be able to save the world from destruction? When our lives are almost over, will it matter that we know that two plus two equals four, or that meiosis is different from mitosis? Or will it matter that we know that we have changed the world to make it a better place? Let's be taught how to make a difference.