Howard writes:

> I've admired the commentary of Wirt for a number of years on this list
>  and his comment exposes, or at least alludes to, a point of view all too
>  commonly heard within the vox populi, namely, that your children are
>  your responsibility, not mine.
>
>  I'm not pointing a finger at Wirt, just using his comment as an example.
>  I'm sure he's smart enough to recognize the value of education as much
>  or more than just about anyone we can think of.

That isn't at all what I meant, even if it was interpreted in that manner.

The point I meant to argue was every child's first, best teachers are their
parents. These are the people who either instill a joy in life-long learning,
or they stifle it. I've been in homes where there are no books, the children
aren't read to at night, nor are they even rarely spoken to in an intelligent
manner.

Ignorance, superstition and poverty are as much learned attributes as any
other form of knowledge or behavior, and the larger the percentage of these
children that come to exist, the more they impoverish us all. It is in our own
enlightened self-interest to do whatever we can to elevate our neighbors' children
to their highest potentials, to provide them with every possible economic and
educational opportunity.

I can't imagine anyone being so disconnected from the world that he can't
understand that.

But there is only very short time window to truly educate a child, and much
of it occurs before the child enters school. By age 12 or so, if the child
isn't fully engaged in the process of self-education, it's almost as if his soul
has been lost, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I consider that a form
of murder.

Wirt Atmar

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