I grew up with a mother who was constitutionally unable to bury her head in the sand when she saw an injustice or noticed something that needed to change. Despite the fact that she was raising nine children at the time (eventually ten), she took action: She ran committees, spearheaded campaigns, wrote letters, led meetings, and even ran for local office. She wasn’t afraid to speak up, even if other people rolled their eyes or didn’t get it.
This apple didn’t fall far from the tree: There’s an activist in me always clamoring to get out. It’s tempered by my pragmatic side and a tendency to be diplomatic, but it’s there, and has shown itself in different ways over the years. Eventually I’ll do more with it, I’m sure. These days, though, I’m thinking about the ways I can help my girls develop their natural sense of justice and compassion as they grow up. I want them to have the confidence to stand for what they believe in and to know that their voice and actions can make a difference.
Each of us has some area that calls to us — education, the welfare of children, human rights, healthcare, poverty, the environment, agriculture, the arts, etc. And although many of us don’t have the time or inclination to picket or march on Washington, there are many ways to advocate for change and teach our children to do the same: write letters, emails, and even blog posts; engage our social media circles; fundraise, volunteer, and share info with friends and neighbors; donate time, talent, and money; join a group or committee; exercise the right to vote…the list goes on.
It also helps to know what your natural inclinations are when it comes to making change. Here’s a fun little quiz (put out by the same people who did The Story of Stuff) to help you discover what kind of changemaker you are. It was interesting to think about what personality traits might drive my involvement or help me be successful in making change.
Do you think of yourself as a changemaker, or even an activist? How do you teach your children to be aware of the wider world and the important issues out there?
Hello, I'm Zoe Saint-Paul. I'm a writer, life coach, and new mama to twins who's trying to live "slower" in a speed-obsessed world. Here we chat about life and love, food and design, and everything in between -- all at the right pace. So grab some tea, pull up a chair, and join the conversation. Feel free to 
Great topic! I was raised in San Francisco in the 1970s… being an activist is part of drinking the water (which I have actually advocated for!
; in fact, my earliest memories are of sore feet on picket lines, of being taken out of school for marches at the Capitol, and of writing “letters of protest” to the TV station when my favorite show (Speed Racer) was taken off the air. So, yes, I guess you could say I think of myself as an activist. :-}
As a parent, I had been hesitant to discuss some issues, such as slavery. How to explain that if it hadn’t ended, our society would view them – but not me – as property without rights? I needed it to come from me and not random reading or an outside source, though, and so have explained as much as I think is appropriate, enough to understand the facts.
Each issue is different, though. At our march last weekend, other parents were having this discussion and most said that they had kept the purpose of the march from their children, giving them generalities instead. On that issue, I have been direct and very fact based. Some people think… others think…. this is what I think and why. They are smart and I don’t want them someday to think I was just giving them one side of the story; plus I want them to appreciate that good people can have opposing perspectives and that being respectful does not mean giving in.
I’ve found – to my delight – that they express outrage at social injustice, current or historic. That made me want to nurture that, which is why we have been actively standing up, going to marches, talking about how my adult students are taking action and how they can (now or later) do the same. I have also shared stories that come from my adult students – my one student who lives in his car, others in various difficult situations – so that they know that the problems have faces and some immediacy.
I think that for kids, social activism can begin in their social situations, speaking up for the person who is feeling left out, etc., so we have a lot of discussion about that. We also know a lot of families with more radical approaches to specific topics – our strict no garbage friends, those who have a curriculum exclusively around toxins, those who insist on all organics or whatever. I have sympathy for each of these causes, but a more mellow approach to them, and I am trying to discuss each of our choices with the kids with a “everyone does their best but no one is perfect” perspective. My hope is that it promotes a spirit of understanding and inquiry; a desire to do the right thing without an extremism except when really necessary.
And then, as with everything parenting-related, I cross my fingers, say a prayer, and hope I’ve done my best and that it was enough. I know that you have much wisdom, Zoe, and look forward to learning how you adopt your principled social approaches to your parenting. Maybe H, S, K and G will work together someday and create some lovely and radical needed change! Delightful idea….