I may have mentioned this subject before but it has been brought to the forefront again, all day pre-K. The governor of Maryland is pushing for this. The experts are testifying. The big issue, to them, is the funds to accomplish this. Oh, they talk about how the children will benefit from an expanded vocabulary, a big increase between those that go to pre-K and those that do not, hundreds of words. It all sounds like a rosy picture. Let's get those kids educated ! My concern is when are the children going to see their parents or siblings ? When do the children get to be children ? Are we now going to raise our children industrially ? A sort of child rearing factory. When they reach the age of four we send them off to be with strangers all day and become programmed to the classroom environment. A constant barrage of competitiveness. And despite what any experts may say to the contrary, that is just what it is. The children are quite aware they are being judged and graded. The pressure to succeed begins early. I am certainly no expert in childhood development but I know a thing or two about kids.
A hot topic right now is bullying. Wonder why that is ? There were bullies when I was a kid too. Why is it so much worse today ? I don't think the bullies are any worse, just the reaction to them. Why ? Could it be that the kids are not being allowed to have enough social interaction, without adult intervention, to know how to deal with it ? Maybe there isn't enough time spent just letting kids be kids instead of attempting to " educate " them all the time. Children need time to learn how to get along with other kids on their own terms. Just learning to follow the rules is not sufficient. If for every difficulty they encounter they just run to the " authorities " what does that teach them ? How can we expect them to learn any coping skills that way ? Ever notice the number of lawsuits being filed today ? Isn't that the same thing we are teaching our children ? Don't deal with the issue in a reasonable or logical way, just call the authorities. Looks the same to me. The I'm right because I have a lawyer that says so attitude. We will set aside common sense, compassion or respect for others and go straight to the law.
I'm thinking in our haste to do the best we can for our children we are doing harm. We are rushing them forward. Contrary to what some may think I believe the children of today are no smarter than the children of yesterday. Think about Abraham Lincoln or other historical figures. Were they as children any different from the children of today ? I doubt it, kids are pretty much kids. Yes some are " smarter " than others. Intellect is an inherent thing. Learning how to socially interact with others is not. Behaviors are taught. It just appears to me that the children of today spend way too much time being supervised in some fashion or another. School and organized activities always with adult supervision. When they are not doing that and are left on their own what entertainment venues are there ? Violent video games, social media and the internet. All those things were not readily available years ago. I don't blame those things for the behaviors, the kids are still responsible for the bad choices they make, but if the children were given more time for development maybe they wouldn't choose those. I view those things as more of a protest than entertainment. I'm doing things contrary to the authority ! Like I said, kids don't change much. My generation grew our hair long and listened to rock and roll. If we had been forced into pre-K at the age of four no telling how we would have protested against the " man. "
Isn't it ironic that the families of today are generally smaller but spend less time together. We have fewer children and spend less time with those children. More children are staying in their parental homes now, but the interaction is less. Children feeling more entitled than ever before. The elders are being shipped off to retirement homes and the children go to school. The rest of us are trying to earn a living. We chase after the almighty dollar so we can do what ? Buy more stuff and pay for our children to be away from us in those schools and after school activities. Pay to put our parents in retirement homes ? I think we should just rethink this whole thing. Society is a reflection of the family. I don't like what I'm seeing.
A hot topic right now is bullying. Wonder why that is ? There were bullies when I was a kid too. Why is it so much worse today ? I don't think the bullies are any worse, just the reaction to them. Why ? Could it be that the kids are not being allowed to have enough social interaction, without adult intervention, to know how to deal with it ? Maybe there isn't enough time spent just letting kids be kids instead of attempting to " educate " them all the time. Children need time to learn how to get along with other kids on their own terms. Just learning to follow the rules is not sufficient. If for every difficulty they encounter they just run to the " authorities " what does that teach them ? How can we expect them to learn any coping skills that way ? Ever notice the number of lawsuits being filed today ? Isn't that the same thing we are teaching our children ? Don't deal with the issue in a reasonable or logical way, just call the authorities. Looks the same to me. The I'm right because I have a lawyer that says so attitude. We will set aside common sense, compassion or respect for others and go straight to the law.
I'm thinking in our haste to do the best we can for our children we are doing harm. We are rushing them forward. Contrary to what some may think I believe the children of today are no smarter than the children of yesterday. Think about Abraham Lincoln or other historical figures. Were they as children any different from the children of today ? I doubt it, kids are pretty much kids. Yes some are " smarter " than others. Intellect is an inherent thing. Learning how to socially interact with others is not. Behaviors are taught. It just appears to me that the children of today spend way too much time being supervised in some fashion or another. School and organized activities always with adult supervision. When they are not doing that and are left on their own what entertainment venues are there ? Violent video games, social media and the internet. All those things were not readily available years ago. I don't blame those things for the behaviors, the kids are still responsible for the bad choices they make, but if the children were given more time for development maybe they wouldn't choose those. I view those things as more of a protest than entertainment. I'm doing things contrary to the authority ! Like I said, kids don't change much. My generation grew our hair long and listened to rock and roll. If we had been forced into pre-K at the age of four no telling how we would have protested against the " man. "
Isn't it ironic that the families of today are generally smaller but spend less time together. We have fewer children and spend less time with those children. More children are staying in their parental homes now, but the interaction is less. Children feeling more entitled than ever before. The elders are being shipped off to retirement homes and the children go to school. The rest of us are trying to earn a living. We chase after the almighty dollar so we can do what ? Buy more stuff and pay for our children to be away from us in those schools and after school activities. Pay to put our parents in retirement homes ? I think we should just rethink this whole thing. Society is a reflection of the family. I don't like what I'm seeing.
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