A litter at a time – a child at a time
Everyday Samuel goes to school with his friend, N. N has been picking up litter with us, whenever I remember to bring along a plastic bag. We do it just for about 5 minutes, on the way from the carpark to the traffic crossing and across the road to the school.
Today, I brought a plastic bag along and so we went litter-picking.
Somehow for today, we picked up only small pieces of rubbish – cigarette butts, sweet wrappers, etc. From my experience in picking litter, I have found that it’s the bigger pieces of paper and plastics which are “easiest” to pick up. The small items can be picked up easily only with our bare hands, and they often had to be extracted from among the damp grass and muddy soil.
Yes, it can be disgusting.
But I wanted to share a picture of this “disgusting” bag of rubbish, because to me, it represented a child’s growth.
When we first started, Samuel’s friend N obliged but did little. There were lots of “Yuks!” and “So disgusting!”.
Then he started to be the one who would ask me everyday : “Did you bring a plastic bag?” However, he would still be doing more directing (“Here! There, Samuel!”), than picking them up himself.
I continued to encourage him.
I told him : “Of course it’s disgusting – it’s rubbish we are picking up. Of course it is difficult to do, that’s what makes you a hero when you do it. If it’s easy, everyone will be doing it, and there is nothing great about doing something that is easy and nice to do.”
Give a child time, and he will grow.
Today, N was the one who picked up the most amount of rubbish.
He still honestly exclaimed : “Yuks! So disgusting!”
It is still difficult for him.
But he did it.
Near the end of our short session, I asked him whether he would like to clean his hands, before we cross the road over to the school. His reply moved me. He said that he wanted to clean his hands on the other side, so that he can pick up more litter.
I am so proud of him. I feel proud of him not so much for what he is doing, i.e. picking up litter, but for the fact that he allowed himself to do something which he naturally was adverse to, and he has grown to treat it with less contempt. He has learnt to overcome.
It is the same with my own children. They started off reluctant to, but now it has become a routine, and it is so easy for me to ask them to simply pick up something from the floor.
Children are so lovely. They have such a teachable spirit. What a privilege I have, not just in teaching my own children, but I appreciate my friend for supporting and trusting me, and allowing me to also teach her son, N.
