Sunday we were invited to be on Forest Sawyer's afternoon talk show heard on local radio station WGFS. Also invited was Covington Assistant Police Chief and Newton County Board of Education member Almond Turner.

We had the opportunity to talk about the education system here in Newton County, where it has come from and where it is going.

We were impressed with his passion for education.

In talking to him about what can be done to improve the education of our young people in general, one thought stood out above all the rest - family involvement.

Thirty years ago or more it was not uncommon for families to gather together at the evening meal and share their experiences and their concerns.

Over the years, that famous pendulum of life, which never seems to stop in the middle has swung to the opposite side.

Now, more than likely, we are dealing with single family households or households where both parents have to work hard and long hours to try to reach that brass ring of what is considered success in this country.

A majority of children unfortunately are learning their life skills from computers and television.

Whatever free time is available is spent by parents ferrying around their children to endless year-round sports activities or to the many other school activities children participate in, with the hope that their child will earn a scholarship to a school of higher learning.

We are not blaming parents for this pendulum swing; we realize that most of you reading this right now are trying your best and that you love your children.

We just want you to know that we can and must get that pendulum of life to start swinging the other way.

We just ask you to take a few minutes to smell the flowers, take a little time from the sports events, look at what your child is learning in school and get involved in your children's school parents' associations.

You can make a difference if you take the time to at least read to your children. It may only be a small difference but a difference nonetheless. Without an educated society, our country will have no future.

We can only hope and pray that someday the family pendulum of life will begin to move back toward center and instead of scholarships for sports activities that schools of higher learning will begin to offer scholarships for family involvement.

That famous comic page philosopher Pogo, once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." We together can begin to bring back the celebration of family to our daily life.