Disposable?

This is trash. 

Websters Dictionary defines trash in 3 distinct ways:

Definition of TRASH

1

: something worth little or nothing

2

: something in a crumbled or broken condition or mass

3

: a worthless person

No one really likes trash. It's dirty. It's smelly. It doesn't have a whole lot of uses. We pay people money to cart it away and stick it with the other trash. We don't want a landfill near our house because we don't want to deal with the problems trash brings. Like odors. And vermin. We don't have to see it once it leaves our home it its flexible scented white bag. We don't have to watch it degrade, turn to slime, get full of insect larvae.

Some of you are probably already a little grossed out by that depiction. Some of you are probably nodding your head thinking "You go girl! Jump on the 'Save the Planet, Go Green' bandwagon with us!" Some of you are probably groaning inwardly thinking 'Oh great, another environazi post.' "

You're wrong. This post is not about garbage in the waste basket. It's about these guys.

This is trash.

"Ok, she's jumped the shark, gone off the deep end, lost it."

Nope. I haven't.

These are kids. These particular kids are from Honduras and are homeless, but I just grabbed the first group picture I saw when I googled "Homeless Child".

Did you know there are kids just like these in every school across the United States? Including North Carolina? Including Gaston County? Including YOUR child's school?

Did you know there are kids just like these living in every community? In your neighborhood? On your street? In YOUR house?

Everyday (Monday through Friday, anyway) I am blessed with the opportunity to go to work and be surrounded by children all day long. I get to interact with parents, teachers, and others who spend all day every day with children. I've learned that adults tend to put labels on children. The more educated the adult, the more labels they have for kids. The more popular ones include:

The Good Kid:
This is the kid who plays by the rules, does his homework, gets along with his peers, and tries his best.

The Bad Kid:
This is the kid who rarely does what he is told, never turns in homework, argues with his peers, and gives up if something appears to be hard or challenging.

The Smart Kid:
This kid knows all the answers to every question and always wants to learn something new. This kid isn't afraid to take on new challenges or try new things.

The Dumb Kid:
This kid cannot seem to figure it out no matter how many times you tell him. He just doesn't get it. He probably gets mediocre or bad grades and probably is hesitant to try something new.

The Bratty Kid:
This kid thinks he is the sun and the world revolves around him. Everything should be handed to him on a silver platter, crusts cut off and sauce on the side.

The "Special" Kid:
This kid is ADHD or learning disabled or has weird ideas. Maybe he can't be still more than five minutes. Maybe his head is filled with rocks instead of knowledge. Maybe he stares off into space all the time.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. Every kid gets judged by the person they interact with, just as you and I get judged by those WE interact with. Most kids get more than one label. They might be smart and bratty. They might be good and dumb.

"Wait - I thought you were writing about trash? I'm lost."

Here's the deal. Every kid, no matter what their label, shares certain key things in common.

• They had no say so about being brought into the world
• They had no say so in what adults have been, are, or will be caring for them
• They are unique individuals - no two are alike
• They ALL have worth

Now I am assuming because you are reading my blog that you are a decent human being who is appalled by the way some people choose to interact with children because those are the type of people I generally associate myself with.

I am assuming that you shake your head and purse your lips when you hear me tell about a child who comes into school dirty, tired, and hungry everyday. Or a child whose momma can't be bothered to work with the school to get their kid the help he needs. Or a child who sleeps on the floor because their family got evicted again because their grandma who they live with spends more money on drugs than rent.

I'm assuming you are appalled that kids throw chairs across the room at other kids. That teachers have to spend more time disciplining kids than teaching them. That the school doesn't just suspend those kids, or that when they do, the parents won't come to the school to pick them up.

Afterall, you don't want YOUR kid exposed to those things.

So tell me this; when that "bad" kid was born, when he took his first breath and uttered his first cry, do you think he decided right then and there that he was going to be bad? Do you think he made the decision to turn to a life of crime, drugs, and poverty? To one day raise his own children to live the life he lived?

Or do you think he was just like your kid on that very first birthday?

Still think they are so different?

Why do we treat these kids like they are trash? Is it because they are dirty? Smelly? Not very useful? Because we pay people money to take them away and put them with the other kids we can't be bothered to deal with? Why don't we want them near our homes? Is it because of the problems that these throw away kids bring? Like violence? Crime? Why is it we don't want to see them in our nice, neat, clean neighborhoods? Because we know they will degrade, make bad decisions, influence our perfect babies?

Now half of you are saying "It's not the kids, it's the parents." Ok. By condemning and ostracizing the parent, you are guaranteeing the cycle to repeat itself. By treating the parent like this is their problem that they created, you are telling them that you don't care enough about the kid to be a part of the solution. So why should the parent give two licks about what you have to say? Why should they bother to follow up at home?  Why make the effort to turn their kids' lives around? Much less their own? It's not like you really care anyway. You just want them out of your hair long enough that they and their kid will become someone else's problem.

And half of you are saying "Yeah, these kids have it rough, but they can still choose to make good decisions and turn they lives around. They are the ones who have control over what they say and do." And that's a valid point, it really is. So what message are you sending that kid when you lose it and blow up on them in front of everyone again? Or tease them with a "harmless" remark? Or ignore them like they don't exist? Or refer them to the next person down the line because "they can get them the help they need"?

At what point do you roll up your sleeves and jump in the trenches with these kids? When are you willing to get dirty?

Are you still treating them like trash because they aren't "yours"?

2-4 hours a month. That's all it takes. You don't have to have a college degree, you don't have to have a ton of money, you don't have to be perfect. (Ok, you DO have to not be a criminal and be able to pass a background check)


2-4 hours a month will allow you to make a difference in the life of one of these garbage kids. You can be a mentor. You show up at the school, hang out with the kid, and mark it off your To-Do list. You get to feel like you made a difference. The child gets to feel like they are of enough worth that someone they don't even know believes in them. That someone they've never met, who doesn't know all their baggage, dirt, and shame, cares enough to come eat lunch with them. Or go out to recess. Or read a book. Or help them do their homework. That someone is going to follow up and see how they are doing. Celebrate their successes with them. Be disappointed when they make a bad choice. Let them have the last piece of gum in the pack. Bring them a treat just because you were in line at the store and thought of them. The child gets something to look forward to. Someone to share their accomplishments with. Someone who loves them.

Become a mentor. Don't just agree that society is screwed up and people need to step up to the plate. Do something about it.

It's not someone else's problem. It's YOUR problem.


So are you just going to wait for the trash collector to come? Or are you going to act?


Matthew 25:40
And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."


Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord