Kindergarten values: Worth building a future on

I may be small, but I sure act tall,

I'm the tallest little kid you'll see. . . .

At one point, the teachers hand out instruments to all the students, effectively arming them. One boy, holding maracas, sits dangerously close to a big aquarium full of fish.

In fact, he is one hatchet blow from making the song about caviar memorable in ways the music teacher, Mr. Wulff, never could've imagined.

Like many things in life, a broken aquarium would seem a crisis at the moment, then witnesses would laughingly tell the story for decades to come -- the day the kindergartners got a surprise bath. As the next song begins, 100 parents hold their breath.

They are almost ready for first grade, these kids. They have grown an inch since breakfast. Just look at them sitting on the floor, heads tilted up, faces like sunflowers.

As with the drizzle earlier, the kids are mercifully unaware of what the future has in store for them. Twelve more years of this, then four to eight years of college after that. Then four, maybe five years of looking for work. Then a career in data entry or tending bar. Maybe a little law practice if they're lucky.

Oh, what a world we've given you, kids. We meant well, really. We're holding our breath.

But when haven't parents held their breath? Back when I was clomping around kindergarten in cowboy boots, all parents had to worry about was the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Now we're dealing with economic calamity, religious zealotry and the plight of that poor Susan Boyle. No matter what, the world's end seems always at our fingertips.

Fortunately, most moms and dads are long-term investors, and today in this kindergarten classroom, on a rare rainy Friday, we're hoping that we're looking at some of the payoffs and problem solvers.

And solutions won't come from learning to read the fastest or whose kid can perform trigonometry in his head by second grade -- we've already had enough of that.

The answer lies in who will create a fairer, more sensible world, where the values we learn in kindergarten are never lost.

Keep your hands to yourself. Listen. Respect your neighbor. Pay attention. Wait your turn.

Never lie. Love the Earth. Share your toys. Don't hog the crayons.

It's impossible to look at these faces -- these incredible sunflowers -- and not believe good things lie ahead . . . nurtured in rooms like these, full of cotton clouds.

And caviar.

chris.erskine@latimes.com