Introducing death to children can be a burdensome endeavor because most parents never want to see their children sad over something they themselves can not control. As difficult a task that it is, it's necessary because kids will eventually encounter it. I support Nicholas and his family from Ohio because his project could be a teachable moment for other children and it came from his heart.
The school's reasoning for not accepting the project was that it was not something his classmates were old enough to learn about. Principal, Cherie Kaiser said, "given the age of the children in the class, we do not believe the subject of the photograph was appropriate." But in reality children need to be introduced to death even though it can be sad and scary. Children in church are exposed to the brutal crucifixion of Jesus at very young ages. Because of His death many of my friends and I all became Christian's when we were Nicholas' age because we understood why He died. Even though children seem so fragile, they are much stronger and smarter than we think.
Old Brooklyn Constellation Elementary didn't think their students could handle seeing death, but Dr. Hall, a psychologist, said in regard to Nicholas' project, "while there's not a right or wrong way to introduce death to children, this can be a teachable moment." He agrees that the school is wrong to not allow Nicholas to share his love for his brother with the class. The project assigned was to have students tell about some of their favorite things. Noah, Nicholas' brother, was very important to him and his family. His mom told reporters,"We deal with it every day, one day at a time. It's been extremely difficult." They kept his nursery the same and hang pictures of him in the house so they can always remember him. Their story definitely pulls at the heart strings, but it makes you loose hope in the school system. Nicholas has been through a traumatic experience, and shouldn't be punished for wanting to share his story with his class mates.
The school's reasoning for not accepting the project was that it was not something his classmates were old enough to learn about. Principal, Cherie Kaiser said, "given the age of the children in the class, we do not believe the subject of the photograph was appropriate." But in reality children need to be introduced to death even though it can be sad and scary. Children in church are exposed to the brutal crucifixion of Jesus at very young ages. Because of His death many of my friends and I all became Christian's when we were Nicholas' age because we understood why He died. Even though children seem so fragile, they are much stronger and smarter than we think.
Old Brooklyn Constellation Elementary didn't think their students could handle seeing death, but Dr. Hall, a psychologist, said in regard to Nicholas' project, "while there's not a right or wrong way to introduce death to children, this can be a teachable moment." He agrees that the school is wrong to not allow Nicholas to share his love for his brother with the class. The project assigned was to have students tell about some of their favorite things. Noah, Nicholas' brother, was very important to him and his family. His mom told reporters,"We deal with it every day, one day at a time. It's been extremely difficult." They kept his nursery the same and hang pictures of him in the house so they can always remember him. Their story definitely pulls at the heart strings, but it makes you loose hope in the school system. Nicholas has been through a traumatic experience, and shouldn't be punished for wanting to share his story with his class mates.
