The humble Abacus, they were handed out in primary school. We learned how to add up. You carefully moved the beads along the horizontal wooden bars.

Todays Thoughts. Adding up life?  

That is something we are not taught in schools anymore, is it? In my childhood, I was lucky enough to attend a small Church Of England School in the seventies that was influenced by the work of The Waldorf system. As we headed out of the sixties, which had been heavily influenced by an alternative way of thinking, and an exploration of new ways of being, many teachers sought to bring their belief systems and what they deemed necessary into the classroom. This ethos lay a path followed by children. 

A few years ago I met John, who attended the same secondary school. An extension of the school system I had been lucky enough to develop through. We spent two hours talking about the Persian rugs, outside English classes. Also, photography walks with our in-house art guru and teacher through the woods, along the high street, peering into shop windows and taking in the texture of brick walls. The school had left John with a love of books, learning, and humanities. He claimed the years there had vastly developed his grammar and language skills through the English department's passion, inclusivity, and encouragement. 

We talked for over an hour. He agreed that we were luckier than most. His children and wife wouldn't believe he had attended a school that seemed alien to her experience. We had been given such a varied and interesting education by teachers who wished to feed a child's curiosity whilst educating, not to hem them into a rigid system where individuality and self-actualization are frowned upon. 

In the sixties, many desired to leave the Second World War behind.  Most of the world, and especially Europe had experienced tyranny and death. The aftermath, and trauma of the war years lived on through the children of those who had experienced the war. Turning to Theosophy, something that felt new, yet had its roots in the past felt safe compared to what they saw as the dogma of the main Christian religions. Why rely on a system, and a set of beliefs that even today still bring with them bloodshed and subjugation for many in many parts of the world, let alone the blood that was shed in the name of new beginnings in the past. And now would appear to be allowing abuse of children through those that hide within the safety net of their checkered floored buildings.

I look back at the generation of teachers who had grown up and matured in the raw leftovers of the war, and it makes sense that they would reach for a new internal belief system. In our little village in Buckinghamshire, we had those few, who had come together with their broad views and exploration of what would serve the children, not the system.

Adding it all up with broken beads

Was it because of the raw experience that many of those teachers had secondhand through their parents and beyond, that they saw a reality, that is still here today, but not being addressed in what we call a civilized society. All children need to be able to act civilly, whether at school, at home, or in a restaurant. When we do not address generational trauma that is passed down within families, either through wars or family breakdowns, we might as well put a child in a straight jacket and wait to see what eventually leaks out.  We need a public school system that supports the inner growth of every child. The Second World War created a huge amount of generational trauma that is still lingering today. We also have many broken families and parents bringing up children who are not emotionally even aware of themselves.

More importantly, we now have children who are cut off from themselves and any higher belief system attaining to the force of replenishment. genuine self-regard, boundaries, passion, and good.

And then I ask myself. When we neglect nourishing children from within, we create what?

All writing content S.Vukomanovic/Lawrence 18/12/2024 ©

Image: Kati Hoehl