“Every King Holiday provides a unique opportunity to teach young people to fight evil, not people, to get in the habit of asking themselves, ‘what is the most loving way I can resolve this conflict?’”
(Coretta Scott King)

If I could wave a magic wand over the education system, one of my spells would be to require all students to take the following classes:

—Conflict Negotiation and Resolution

—Speech and Rhetoric

—Relationship Systems and Dynamics

I know this is a pipe dream, because in our education system we still worship content mastery in the areas of English, Social Studies, Science, and Math. I love that my kids have learned so much in those areas, but why do we relegate the critical areas mentioned above to things that are caught, not taught?

Isn’t it your experience that the most valuable skills you need out in the workplace, or within the home, have to deal with understanding relationships, presenting yourself well, and learning how to face conflict and find peace?

I love the quote above from Mrs. King, issued yesterday as a statement about the value of the King Holiday. It is not just to commemorate all he did to bring truth and restore justice. In her mind, it is an opportunity to teach the crucial life skills it takes to fight evil and create a peace-filled community. Since this is not going to happen in our schools anytime soon, that means it’s left up to us to teach within our homes.

Of course, that would mean intentionally growing my own skills in those areas, ‘cause there’s few things worse in a kids’ eyes than a parent trying to teach them things they themselves have yet to learn. That’s part of the vision of ScreamFree, to teach adults the critical relationship and conflict skills they need to practice, so we all can pass them down to the next generation.

So how can we best help you? Reply to this email and lemme know.