He Hit Me Back First! -- The Wise Part Within

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The Wise Part Within

From He Hit Be Back First!: Development of the Will in Children for Making Choices*, Revised Edition, printed by Jalmar Press, (800) 662-9662, blwjalmar@att.net, reprinted with permission.

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Parents and educators are experiencing a deep desire to discover ways in which children can learn to bring healing and wholeness to their lives. A grandmother said to me, "I am convinced that we are raising a generation of hostile children from which we may never recover."

Now, more than ever, I am committed to the position that self-esteem and self-discipline skills along with the principle of Right Relations be required subjects in schools and in the university teacher training programs. The educator has the responsibility to provide the skills and information needed for a well-rounded academic education, one that helps individuals become clear-thinking, self-reliant, and able to communicate effectively, not only in the marketplace and political arena, but also in the home and in personal relationships. The student of the future will understand the necessity for the training of the will as well as its connection to personal and worldwide cooperation.

Two of the most fundamental subjects of living are missing in the educational curriculum. One, the skills of personal relationships—how to get along with yourself and others; and two, the skills of parenting. Daily classes in these subjects are as essential as classes in reading and math. The powerful worldwide drug situation and the vastness of related problems demonstrate in a most painful way the need for such curriculum.

Meeting with parents and educators in this country and around the world has given me greater hope for the future of our children and the educational systems. There is an explosion of writing, teaching, talking, and acceptance of "How-to" programs on human relations skills with curriculum being produced. There is hope in the fact that teachers are expressing a receptivity and willingness to risk teaching these skills, as little by little they experience the joy of success.

The collection of activities in this book is directed toward developing within the child an awareness of his own inner authority and ability to choose. In this revision I have put even more emphasis on the recognition and use of the will. The will and choice-making process within each individual must be recognized and developed for a sense of responsibility, freedom, and healthy self-esteem to exist. I have added more for parents and have written some new exercises and expanded old ones with new illustrations.