Structure...it's a gift!

I happened upon this presentation made by Colin Powell. In general:-), I believe he's a very wise man!  He talks, in the video, about the need for structure in children's lives.  He believes, as do I, that this begins the minute you hold your child.  They need structure, they thrive on structure and they deserve structure. He believes that every child deserves the "gift of a good start!"  That doesn't mean toys and trips and all the fluff that money can buy, it means discipline, love, rules and responsibility...from the get go.  And all of those things also need to come through community as well as through the home. One thing he stressed is reading....he hooked me there.  You cannot send a child to first grade who has no appreciation or association with reading... You've already set them up for failure.  Sounds pretty harsh but oh so true.  He believes that by 3rd grade if you're not on the mark, you're destined for failure.  Scary huh?  He also believes that all the money you throw at education needs support and structure from home or it isn't gonna work!  He knows it's hard work to raise a child and he stresses that's why it takes a "tribe, a family, a community!"  Enough preaching.... I really do have a point:-)  Maybe a little far fetched for some but this is exactly one of the reasons I love Face Book. ( or maybe just one of my pathetic excuses for my dependency on it.)  In our little community, and it is compared to Powell's inner city community, we really do care.  We care about our own kids, of course, but we care about your kids and their kids.  We are genuinely proud when we see a picture on Face Book of this week's "student!" or of Susie learning to tie her shoes, Johnny shoveling the walk or Mary smooching her sister.  There is nothing I care to do less than quote Hillary Clinton but it absolutely "takes a village to raise a child!!"  Every day I marvel at the remarks we, as a community of friends, make about the little things in our kid's (or grandkid's ) lives that we are proud to share.  That is what will contribute to helping these children be successful.
So simple when we realize that each of us can be part of giving the gift of a good start.... not just for our kids but for all kids in our neighborhood and our community. We're pretty lucky to live where we do, have the school system we have, and live it a place that really does care about their neighbor. And we're lucky to have a venue to share our "gift!"