A hero is someone who never conforms and shows us the danger of a person who is always conforming, or who Dr. Martin Luther King explains is “more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.” In our Creative Learning Curriculum, we relate this back to real life situations where children in our programmes might face the choice between following the group or resisting status quo, thinking about examples such as xenophobia, racism, and homophobia.
In his famous letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King said that “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” While many would agree with this statement, it is important to realise that there are many skills required to follow it. Firstly, one has to have empathy skills to realise who the law could be hurting, then one needs critical thinking skills to assess the situation as a whole and decide what the moral action in the circumstance would be. Once one has decided on what the ethical action (or inaction) would be, one needs to have the self-esteem and rebelliousness to stand away from the crowd and stand up for what they think is right. How best to do this – how to make the biggest difference without endangering oneself unnecessarily – entails creativity skills.
Heroes like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. help us to empower children to become lifelong learners and everyday heroes themselves by acting with this knowledge and responsibility to create a better world for everyone.
Does MLK Jr. inspire you to do something heroic?
The Thanda Superheroes are a group of monthly donors who are fighting food insecurity, poor education, and unemployment – creating real and lasting change in rural South Africa. With these powers, they are building a world where everyone can be a hero in their own communities.
Join the fight today at www.thanda.org/
