Education in values: sowing the seeds of a more humane future
Who, if not parents, mothers, and educators, holds the powerful responsibility of passing values on to new generations? At Fundación Asha-Kiran, we deeply believe in this mission. That’s why, in our Day Care Centers, every session is a chance to grow—not only as individuals, but as a community.
In a recent special session focused on value education, we began with a simple yet luminous story: “The Honest Woodcutter.” In the tale, a man accidentally drops his axe into a river. A goddess appears and shows him, one by one, a golden axe, a silver axe, and finally his own iron axe. She asks him which one is his, and the woodcutter answers truthfully: the iron axe belongs to him.
From this starting point, we invited the children to reflect:
- What was the woodcutter’s axe made of?
- What kinds of axes did the goddess show him?
- Did he answer honestly?
In this way, the value of honesty was not only explained—it was explored, felt, and expressed in the children’s own voices.
But we didn’t stop there. We also introduced the value of respect, especially the respect that every child deserves, regardless of physical appearance or ability. Because we know that when a child has a disability, they may become the target of teasing. And that is something we cannot allow. With both clarity and care, we explained that mocking others is a form of harm, and
Honesty, respect, and empathy are not just pretty words for posters; they are seeds. And when planted with care, they bear lasting fruit—not just in the lives of the children we accompany, but in the society we are all helping to shape.
At Asha-Kiran, to educate in values is to nurture our shared humanity. Every story, every gesture, every shared moment becomes part of that journey.