Critique of Robert Fulghum's Essay, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Drew Augustino Robert Fulghum Essay ­­­ F Block 1/23/2014

In Robert Fulghum’s essay “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” he expresses several lessons that he leaned while in kindergarten that still apply to his everyday life today. Robert believes the lessons are so important in life because they are the guidelines to life in his eyes. Fulghum made his list to reach out to his readers about how people underappreciate and undervalue these core lessons to life. I agree with his opinion that these lessons are very important in life but I also believe that they aren’t the only thing you need to know.
“Don’t take things that aren’t yours.” This is the lesson from Robert’s list that struck me as being the most important. Personally, I believe stealing is the most disrespectful thing you can do to someone. I feel it is very important to teach children not to steal at a young age because if a kid grows up getting away with stealing then he/she will just steal larger items when they are older. By that I mean that if a kid steals a candy bar from the same store every day eventually he is going to steal two candy bars a day, and then eventually three a day... etc. It’s a shame that not everyone follows this lesson because if we all did then we would live in a next to perfect world.
In the novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” by Harper Lee the character Atticus Finch learns the lesson “play fair”. I believe this because in the beginning of the book he doesn’t realize the equality factor in blacks and whites as much as he does in the end. He really realizes this after Tom Robinson is put on trial and he proves that he is innocent and Tom is still found guilty. Most people in the town didn’t give blacks a shot but Atticus was a little different than everyone else. In the end Tom is shot and Atticus gets very upset because he knew Tom couldn’t have committed the crime he was being accused of.
One lesson that I learned at a young age and believe is really important that is not on Fulghum’s list is to never be hypocritical. I can’t stand it when someone is a hypocrite, especially if they are blind to it and don’t even realize how unfair they are being. One personal experience of this takes place at home. It’s when my brother will call me out for borrowing a tool or his headphones for the gym, but when he does it, it’s not a big deal to him. This is one of my biggest pet peeves because most people that are hypocrites don’t even realize that they are. A person being a hypocrite to me hasn’t always been a negative thing. In the long run it has helped me make sure that I am not a blind hypocrite because I dislike it so much. Every young child should be taught this because not as many grown people would end up becoming hypocrites in their later years.
I feel like it is much easier to discipline a child at a younger age then when they are older because as kids grow older they tend to become rebellious more frequently. Also at a young age the things you learn develop into habits and just simply the way you live your life. Therefore if you are taught wrong in the very beginning you’re going to be wrong five years later when you have grown up a little more. It is much more difficult to try to change up habits you have already developed compared to just learning the right things, the right way from the start. I believe that it is also very important to learn your lesson the hard way sometimes, and not just by your parents. One of my favorite quotes is “its take a whole village to raise one boy” and this is because its true. It takes many different role models and mentors in a young child’s life for them to properly learn the lessons they need to get by in the real world. I have learned that sometimes the basics are the most important parts of day to day life because of Felltham’s essay. I don’t agree with everything he wrote about but the things I do agree with I am a firm believer in.