On Thursday night, St. Vincent hosted Dr. Walid Phares, a world-renowned speaker on terrorism and author of three books (Future Jihad, War of Ideas, and Confrontation). The essential point of his talk was that education is fundamentally important in the “war of ideas” (the real war behind the “War on Terror”). I don’t want to write in detail about his whole presentation, but rather to reflect on a small point that struck me.
At one point, Dr. Phares said that, “the classroom is the most important room.” He mentioned the newsroom, the courtroom, and even the war room as later rooms that adults spend their time in, but cannot reach without having first spent time in the classroom. Without reflection, I agreed with his point. Education is extremely important. Without a solid foundation of education, it is very difficult to become a successful adult.
However, as I lay in my bed this morning, chiefly wondering whether I should roll over and go back to sleep again, or get up and do homework, Dr. Phares’ quote came to my mind. I realized then that the classroom is not the most important room. (Don’t worry, I’m not about to propose that the bedroom is either). But before a child can ever be educated in a classroom, he or she must learn in their own homes first.
A little girl coloring at the kitchen table learns how her mommy reacts if she accidentally burns a finger on the stove. Children notice whether Daddy stalks into the house and says, “Hi, wife” or whether he walks up behind her, leans around her, kisses her on the cheek, and says, “How’s my sweetheart tonight?” Little Johnny knows the difference between his father drinking another beer in front of the TV and his father playing catch in the yard or doing a project with him at the workbench.
Maybe these little anecdotes don’t always happen in the same room. Depending on the construction of the house and the particular dynamics of a household (night shifts, Mr. Moms, single parents, etc.), the scenarios will be a little different. Regardless of these details, a foundational education takes place before a child even knows what a school is. Whether the “classroom” is a living room, dining room, kitchen, or street and whether the “teacher” is one parent or two, an aunt, uncle, neighbor, sibling, or friend, the first step to becoming an adult is in the early years.
Within the context of Dr. Phares’ lecture, his conclusion was more than sufficient. In the “war of ideas”, he found secondary education (and perhaps high school) to be the place of education in these areas (or so he seemed to indicate). But in a bigger picture, going beyond any specific arena, the raising of our children in foundational to the future.
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