Robert Fulghum’s “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” offers numerous lessons for us. In this book, he reveals a wealth of wisdom that children learn during their kindergarten years. These are timeless values—if we have learned them as we build up the structures of society that nourish and sustain our humanity. If we fail to do so, then these lessons will help redeem our sense of humanity. Some of them came from Fulghum’s context, but Filipinos can adopt or adapt them to their own.

The idyllic, wonderful, and dignified environment for our children is what structures and systems can create. It seems that systems and structures in society have not only failed to serve as role models for our children and youth, but also lack the will and determination to look into their welfare. It starts with the recognition that children mirror the kind of society we have. The situation of children reflects both the present and future of any society.

The development of children is the primary responsibility of the Philippine state as a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It must ensure that children have access to social services and are given opportunities to develop their potential. They should be protected from harm, abuse, and violence.