The current test of feelings is not how appropriate they are but how sincere. I like feelings, but they are the bunny slope of human possibility in some ways. A life entirely at the mercy of feelings is random and willful indeed. If you need to imagine how disastrous a social dilemma it would be if feelings governed everything, think of Bosnia or any other half-dozen countries in the world in 1998. However, I write with the future in mind.
Happiness is a pursuit that finds success through purpose, accomplishment, and possibility.
For children to undertake this path, they need adults who have the courage to insist that youngsters do not know better about certain things, and that, with regard to willfulness and the great wash of feelings, their children can rest trustingly in their hands and risk what it takes to become fully human. We as adults need to risk making our children worthy of respect, love, and admiration. The School is your partner in this pursuit. The alumni party in December offered some proof that we do it pretty well.