We must teach children positive values during the long holidays

Children are home for a whole two months, thanks to new school rules set by the reassuringly efficient Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.

You see, we are a funny society where we even protest against a chance to have time and bond with our own children. One would expect that a conscientious parent would do anything to have ample time with their children. But it comes as no surprise at all that we are even grumbling it will be costly to have them around that long. It reminds me of a seemingly energetic man I saw in Westlands, Nairobi, who went round begging for cash on the grounds that “I am a father of seven”.

Granted, the cost of living is exceedingly high in this country. This is compounded by that feeling of helplessness and hopelessness one gets upon noticing how casually former hairdressers and drivers dish out millions of shillings in soft loans from our hard-earned cash. It makes you want to shout that the job descriptions of top public servants should be revised so that if money disappears under your watch, we will not entertain tall tales of who you knew, met or trusted.

You are held accountable and the only place from where we can discuss anything with you is between the grilled prison windows. Or are you telling me we shall pay tax tomorrow to be gobbled up even by people whose family history of wealth can allow them to spend the rest of their lives giving to the poor? Back to the school holidays, and now that we have grudgingly accepted that the children are here for the long haul, here is what we must not don’t rub off on them. The first one is our fatalistic blind fanaticism of CORD and Jubilee. Let them rise above our belief that what is right is determined by what the leader of our coalition says. If we can, let us teach our children that there is life, and truth, outside what the leaders and hecklers in the two main political outfits think. Let them learn the value of critically examining everything that is said and done in the country, especially by our thieving politicians. Let them know that corruption is one of the biggest problems we have as a country and the Jubilee coalition has let us down by not fighting it. Yes, and this is not propaganda by the opposition.

You must also save them from the opposition. Let them know that counties and sub-counties, which they learn about in Social Studies, are the legal administrative units in Kenya under the 2010 Constitution.

The zones into which the opposition has subdivided the country based on the mother tongue of those who live there is a direction they must never take. For if I ever come to believe zoning Kenya into ethnic enclaves in campaigns (and obviously in governance if the opposition wins) is progressive, then I am Prophet Nathan. Away from politics, we must realise that bonding with our children does not mean packing them into a car and taking them to a public park where Daddy will be drinking frothy beer as Mummy sips a hopelessly sugary alcoholic drink from a black tin can, as the children watch from a distance pretending to be playing. We must help our children discover leisure activities away from gulping tonnes of beer and driving home at break-neck speed. If you think we are moralising here, just consider that this week alone, almost 10 children were caught drinking in bars, perhaps practising what Daddy taught them.

We must let them learn that there are heroes in this country who make a fortune in sports, music, academics, business and innovation and that one does not need to be filthy rich by stealing from the poor to appear on prime-time TV. You see, left to their own devices, these children might get the impression that the people who vie for parliamentary positions and are ever in the limelight are those accused of stealing money. If we are over the hill, at least we can create hope for the future.