So, this past Tuesday, I asked my sixth graders to dream of what it is that they would do if they could be king or queen for a day. The purpose of this was to introduce to them the concept of the Kingdom of Israel leading up to Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God. I was blown away by their responses! They were not only imaginative but also very caring and Gospel-centered! In fact, most of their more serious suggestions are quite compatible with Catholic Social Teaching! Here’s a sampling from the sublime to the “ridiculous”:
Sublime
- provide homes for all the homeless
- make peace with all countries
- create a handicap-accessible camp
- make sure all people have warm clothes for winter
- make sure everyone has a family
- take in all dogs in pounds and shelters
- make sure all kids have presents on Christmas
- set all zoo animals free
- everyone will donate clothes for the homeless
- not let anyone drink and drive
- not let kids get bullied
- make sure nobody gets shot
- make sure Masses are going on all day
- make all money be spread evenly
- make all troops go home
- allow no one to earn lower than minimum wage
- make sure all are fed
- all animals will be treated better
- more jobs
- environmental care
- lower taxes
- better pay and pensions for all
- quality child care for all children
- stop global warming
- end all wars
- improve quality of education for all
“Ridiculous”
- ban written assignments
- everyone’s nails/toes must have color
- everyday was Christmas
- everyone must wear colorful clothing
- everyone must have a pet
- everyone must eat corn for dinner
- have all of the candy in the world sent to me
- have a HUGE pizza party
- no homework
Well I think these ideas are good and that these kids will make pretty good kings and queens.