Every December, 100 students “graduate” from the Living Compassion preschool program and enter first grade in local government schools. Like kindergarten children all over the world, they set off with a solid foundation of A, B, C s, 1, 2, 3s. It is a proud time for the cooperative.
Most children at this stage enter miraculously rapid development, but over time the teachers at Living Compassion have had the heartbreak of watching their students start to forget what they learned. The government schools are too under-funded and over-crowded to provide the support these tiny students need to continue their academic growth.
“We have decided we must do something,” Theresa told me on a recent phone call. “We are going to set up extra lessons for the children when they come back to us for lunch.”
I smiled as I listened, knowing full well we are talking about a group of folks who already have their hands full, and I wondered whether I would be able to make similarly “selfless” decisions. As I looked at that I saw that when we’re present, what we truly want to do is the thing that makes the most sense, the thing that is the best for all. When we are present we become part of the cooperative of Life.
Happy New Year. Happy Year of the Cooperative of Practice. May we all serve/be served!
In gasshō,
Jen