The sick tree - Parables to teach values

Parables and stories
to teach values

Contents Parables and stories to teach values


The father had planted the tree the same day that his son was born, and child and tree grew together and loved each other tenderly. The child looked after it carefully and considered him as a brother.
One day, the Christmas tree began to wilt and its leaves lost its shine and freshness. The child was very sad, and to see if he could cure it, tore painfully each of the yellowed leaves and watered your feet with love and care.
One afternoon, the suffering tree bent to his friend and told her with a sore voice:
-The evil that devours me is in my roots. If you could cure them, I incline my strength and freshness.
The child began to dig into the base of the trunk and discovered a nest of gnats devouring their roots.
(Fable of Pestalozzi)
There are many problems requiring a cure in the roots: to combat insecurity and crime, for example, requires no new prisons, better equipped police, reform of codes... but above all, combating poverty that is the root of much of the social problems. Poverty is the main disease that we must face with courage in our days. It is not possible nor acceptable that we resignemos to it as if it were the inevitable fate for the majority of our brothers. With real political decision, would be easily derrotable poverty, as it was slavery in past centuries. Along with this, we must attack root that culture that promotes individualism and selfishness as fundamental virtues and degrades human beings to mere consumer and purchaser of things.
Education is also very ill and required a cure in its roots. Frequently, changes and reforms proposed are mere hot packs, do not touch the root of the disease. Changes in techniques, mere fads, letting the heart of untouched education.
Everyone must understand that to educate is something sublime and most important to convey knowledge or develop a number of skills and abilities. To educate is to teach to live in fullness, to help each student to know, value and thus shaping his life as an authentic work of art. Each student is a unique and unrepeatable, being with a mission in life, and the talents needed to make it.
It is urgent that society takes seriously the education and educators and intends to lift them from the State of abandonment and prostration in which they are. We need to pass of proclamations to the facts. There is consensus on theory of the importance of education for sustainable development, that will reach everyone, and to go making a substantive democracy, genuine citizens. In practice, however, denied the necessary resources and educators are treated like real pariahs. The society is not concerned with teachers as it should, and teachers do not deal satisfactorily from the children that society gives them. Educators feel mistreated by society and this feels abused by teachers. It is urgent, therefore, that we break this vicious circle of doom. We treat teachers according to the responsibility of their mission and demand delivery, quality. Education, the training of citizens of tomorrow, should be given to the best citizens. Let's not ever forget that while single education isn't going to get the country out of the crisis, it is not less true that we will not leave the crisis without the contribution of a deeply renewed education. All social and economic policies will be insufficient and will be ineffective, if not we are transforming education. Raise the education of the State of prostration that is, should be a national priority. To do this, State and society must take responsibility and dignify and treat educators as the first citizens, which are forming the soul of the country. It is not possible to having first citizens with masters of third. Educators are required long and given very little. Everyone wants the best teacher for their children, but very few want their kids to be teachers. If we want the education to contribute to ending poverty, we must first put an end to the poverty of education and poverty of educators.
The educators, in turn, must engage in its permanent dignity and overcoming, strive to be better each day, and begin to act according to what society expects of them.

Translated for educational purposes.