MLK

[lalicopa]

Laszlo came home from school yesterday telling me about Martin Luther King Jr. He said that when MLK was little, he didn't like being separate in school and when he was older he didn't like sitting on the back of the bus because he was black. He said that MLK wanted to change the rules because they weren't fair.

Then he told me that a bad man didn't like that he was changing the rules, so he took a real gun and killed him.

I was surprised that they told him that...it's just kindergarten. Am I being totally sheltered and stupid? I mean, I am thrilled that they're educating him about world events, but was it really necessary to tell him about that part at his age?

He wasn't disturbed by it or anything, and I am probably being overly protective.

Comments

[mollyf.livejournal.com]

Yow! That would really bug me. It would probably have Sasha asking me really difficult questions for about a month. I'd at least like to be forewarned so that I could think up good answers for her.

[lalicopa.livejournal.com]

Ok, because I thought I was being nuts for letting it bother me.

[mollyf.livejournal.com]

I should add that Sasha is a little obsessed with death. Not so much that I think she needs therapy, but she's had experience with losing her grandma and she does talk about it and ask questions I find very difficult to answer well on the spot.

[lalicopa.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, these smart kids! Laszlo asks me all the time where Alabama is. I keep telling him she got very sick and very old and that she died. He says, "I know *that* but where *is* she?"

I'm not at all ready to go into being cremated or being buried. I keep trying to dance around it in hopes that he'll stop asking.

[mollyf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I went there and it's no fun :-( She was with us the day we scattered my mom's ashes and although I asked the other adults to kind of keep it down about the ashes around Sasha, nobody did.

[k425.livejournal.com]

Out of interest, why not tell him about being cremated or buried? When Felix died in the summer, we explained to Jack (3yrs8mo) why he wouldn't see the cat any more and we all had a good cry. When he asked where Felix was we explained that we'd buried him in the garden and he would turn back into soil to grow more plants.

When they talked about pets at nursery in December, he volunteered the information that his cat was very poorly and in a hole in the garden turning into soil. The nursery staff a) found it very hard to keep a straight face and b) thought that we'd actually handled it quite well. A little better than they did, anyway, the day the goldfish died and one of the kids arrived and went to the loo just as Bob was being flushed away ("he's going to seaside for a holiday" was the spur of the moment explanation...).

[jclaw.livejournal.com]

That would sooo not be cool with me. If it was 4th or 5th, sure, but I don't even let my kids watch the news because of killing news reports. I would be livid if it was being discussed in school IN KINDERGARTEN!

[mercy-rain.livejournal.com]

*shrug* Gabe learned about it last year, in kindergarten. We had a good discussion about what is okay to do when you disagree with people and such, but it didn't upset him unduly, and he *is* fearful of death.

[mollyf.livejournal.com]

They did. She told me the story of "Arthur the King, Jr." while she was in the bathtub. She said that "they killed him because they didn't like what he said. Mama, that's not a good reason. There's never ever a good enough reason to kill someone. I wish he was still alive." I told her she was right and I agree. Then that was it. whew.

Thanks for the heads up!

[tellinellen.livejournal.com]

banjo has been exposed a lot to the concept of death because we had 3 cats die in a row, my mom's cat just died... so we tell him about people who died too. he is innocent about it in a way that makes him totally nonchlant... like when i told him one of the kids at school weren't going to be going there anymore he asked "he died?"

but killing? hmm, that's a different ball of wax. but i guess by kindergarten it's ok. i think i'd have to wait until i have a kindergartener, kinehurah ptu ptu ptu, before i have a real opinion.