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mother confided to her neighbor:
"Those children taught me what 1
believed to be a Jie can be the
truth." Despite misgivings. that
mother was able to project positive
altitudes toward a "different' '
group; happily. her children caught
those feelings.
" Rearing children of goodwill is
basically a problem of educating
parents of goodwill." points out
James M. Egan of the National
Conference of Christians and Jews.
' 'Many forces shape the mind of a
child- church. school, neighbor–
hood, community-but there is little
doubt that the first and primary in–
ftuence is that of the parents. espe–
cially the mother. The problem then
becomes one of reaching the par–
ents. especially the preschool par–
ents, so they may at least be awa re
of the effect of their altitudes upon
the preschool child."
Through the years NCCJ has
been putting that philosophy into
practice by preparing program ma–
terials for use by church groups.
PTAs. home and school associa–
tions. Workshop training sessions
involving parents and youth have
caused both to reexamine altitudes
wh ile deepening understanding. For
severa! years. the New York City
chapter of NCCJ a nd the American
Red Cross have conducted seminars
for pregnant women and their hus–
bands, stressing the importance
for parents to form correct social
altitudes even befare a child is
born.
Human relations groups such as
NCCJ believe that while legislation.
court decisions and mass appeals
through the media can produce pos–
itive results, altitudes really change
when people are confronted with
facts and feelings on a personal
basis. "The directed kind of attitude
change can be done best in a work–
shop atmosphere with close rela–
tionship of people and ideas for an
The
PLAIN TRUTH M
ay
1977
''Children cannot be deceived; they quickly perceive
adult motives. The love that parents
manifest at home and teachers radiate in the classroom
will
be emulated by the children."
extended period of time." states
J ames Egan.
Such positive approaches of rais–
ing children of goodwill can be ben–
eficia!, but. unfortunately. for many
parents the training may come too
late to prevent the development of a
prejudiced personality. How can
one inftuence those youngsters who
have caught biased attitudes?
Frances R. Horwich , writing in
PTA
Magazine.
explains what adults can
do. "For those young children who
have already learned to be prej–
udiced against someone or some–
thing. we must put forth great effort
to help them acquire an under–
standing of other people: their dif–
ferences , their talents and abi lities.
But we can do this only when first
faced up to our own prejudices. de–
termined to root them out. Then it
becomes possible to guide our chil–
dren into an appreciation of others."
Grown-ups of Goodwill
Yes, raising children of goodwill re–
quires grown-ups of goodwill. for
every person communicates the
.!oves that domínate his life. Chil–
dren cannot be deceived; they
quickly perceive adult motives. The
!ove that parents manifest at home
and teachers radiate in the class–
room will be emulated by the chi l–
dren.
"Example is not the main thing in
inftuencing others. lt is the only
thing," said Albert Schweitzer.
This truth is further illustrated in
Dorothy Law Nolte 's poem "Chil–
dren Learn What They Live" : "If a
child lives with criticism. he learns
to condemn. If a child lives with
hostility, he learns to fight. If a child
lives with tolerance. he learns to be
patient. If a child lives with fairness.
he learns justice. If a chi ld lives with
security, he learns to have faith. If a
child lives with approval, he learns
to find !ove in the world."
Striving to be a sterling example
to his children may well be the most
ambitious and significan! challenge
of a parent's life, but it is the best
and possibly the only insurance
against rearing a child who is prej–
udiced against his neighbor. O
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