Who are the children that arrive at our schools every day?

In my already long experience of educational work with children - during 38 years of professional activity - I cannot help noticing and admitting that today's children are nothing like the children at the beginning of my career. My comment is usual and constantly repeated by my professional colleagues and certainly also common to other educators from other geographical areas and even different countries.

Undeniably, time does not stop and we could not expect that the advances would not take place and not reach our children, thus differentiating them from the generations that preceded them. However, it is with some surprise that we still see how quickly evolution has been taking place, in recent times. It seems it does not give us time to adapt to the constant changes that parade before our astonished eyes. Everything passes in acceleration mode and, with regard to human intelligence, customs, ideas, and changing values, this is no less true than in the field of technologies, science and intellectual knowledge.

We can easily see this. It demands from us, the older generation, an enormous effort and capacity to adapt and update ourselves. We can clearly see that this was not necessary in the time of our grandparents, not even our parents. If we do not follow this orientation, we will not only feel but we will also be regarded out of step with the objectives of our young people and children. Moreover, we will no longer be able to fulfill our role as parents, teachers, educators, guidance counselors in the path of life. and of fulfilling well the great duty of leading the current generation of reincarnated spirits on Earth to God. Spirits that were entrusted to us and for which we will have to give account to the Superior Powers.

However, what kind of spirits are these anyway?

For who got here a few years ago, are there, indeed, so many differences between them and us? Would their goals and ours, be so different when we decided, or were advised, to reincarnate? If we consider them from a more general point of view, that is, the reason for reincarnation, certainly not. We all reincarnate for the same reasons. We want to evolve, learn in contact with matter, renew feelings, acquire values, redeem mistakes, compensate injustices, eliminate defects and acquire new virtues. We have paths of atonement and trials to go, progress to acquire, from a moral, spiritual, intellectual point of view. They are common objectives, although differentiated, which have to do with the options and needs of each one of us.

Nevertheless, if we look at these differences between today and yesterday's children from a more specific point of view, which involves individual capacities and evolutionary goals, we are led to admit that these differences are more significant. It becomes evident that the children who arrive at schools today, and who are the same ones who arrive at the family environment through reincarnations, present themselves with higher intelligence. To all this we add a more accurate power of observation and discernment, and a greater capacity for argumentation. It is as if they knew from an early age what they want. As well as where they should lead their will and thought strong convictions, a strong and more directed personality, a greater ability to willingness towards adults, and many other aspects that differentiate them from the children we were. Moreover, the values they reveal seem to us to be somewhat different from those we are used to finding in children of the same age. There is an increasing sensitivity to humanitarian and environmental issues, showing interests and concerns that were removed from ours when we were the same age. It is true that, in our schools, there has been an increasing concern to develop in students values of citizenship and co-responsibility in relation to the fate of our planet and its inhabitants. However, is the sensitivity shown by our children just a positive consequence of our educational efforts? Would we not have already used those same strategies, without such obvious results? I do believe so.

Why now? Why these children? The world comments and seeks explanations. We hear about “indigo children”, “crystal children”, and others, each group with its characteristics and specifications. We will not define each of these categories because such an analysis does not fit in this work. However, let us try to reflect a little, based on the knowledge that the Spiritist Doctrine provides us. Spirits say that our world is already going through a transition phase and that the time is getting closer and closer to ascending to the category that follows that of Atonement and Evidence, and that will allow us to experience the possibility of being a world of Regeneration. This is a difficult and time-consuming transition phase, as it requires a great deal of preparation and a change in attitudes and values. It also requires a gradual alteration of the spiritual climate on the planet, including the less material ranges, inhabited by disembodied beings, but still connected to Earth. It is easy to understand that this is not a job to be done overnight. We are not alone in this ascension purpose. We have the fraternal support of many friends from the higher planes, who watch over us and lovingly fulfill the task of advising us. They sense the good, help us to rise on the evolutionary scale, in order to deserve to live better and happier times. Spiritual friends also tell us that entities of all kinds are reincarnating on Earth, with the intention of helping us to progress. Each one of them brings a specific task. If some dedicate themselves to science, technology, material progress, knowledge and intelligence, others help us in moral progress, to acquire new values, to change attitudes, to let go of harmful traditions and customs. Others work in the field of arts, religions, civil rights, laws and justice. We could point out much more here because spiritual progress is made from a little bit of everything and the field of work to be carried out is very vast.

In this immense harvest of Jesus, which is our terrestrial world, there will be many Spirits reincarnating today. All of them with the most varied tasks. If we think about it, it is not so surprising that different children, with different abilities and intelligences, appear before us in these current times.

Can we conclude - from all this observation - that only Superior Beings are currently reincarnating? Are they the Escol Spirits, those who, in the form of children, are entering our family, our schools and society? We will continue to reflect on this issue in future articles, which will continue this one, because, always based on the study of Spiritism, there are several issues that should concern us when approaching a topic that seems to us to be of great importance in understanding today. We will also try to address, in more depth, the importance of Spiritist education in guiding these children.

Maria de Lurdes Duarte is a teacher in the city of Arouca, Portugal